ABSTRACT
In the last two decades the changing nature of conflicts has also changed the nature of humanitarian action and expanded the role of internal and external agents. A shift from interstate to intra-state conflicts has opened up opportunities for states and donors to involve international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in delivering aid and undertaking developmental tasks. In 2010–2011 humanitarian actions were undertaken in over 150 natural disasters and around 50 complex emergencies, including war, humanitarian crises, refugee situations and large-scale violence (ALNAP 2012: 22). The expansion of international actors in humanitarian emergencies has been mirrored with the creation of national non-governmental organizations (N-NGOs) as domestic partners in assisting in humanitarian actions. In the last two decades, N-NGOs have become an important agent in responding to humanitarian crises. It is estimated that donor countries channel over half of their humanitarian and developmental aid through NGOs. According to the most recent statistics, there are around 4,400 NGOs worldwide engaged in humanitarian action and the current number of 240,000 humanitarian workers is growing steadily (ALNAP 2012: 43). From these figures it is estimated that 64 per cent of organizations are N-NGOs while the INGOs continue to possess most of the resources, preserve the asymmetric power and decide on the flow of aid.
