Humanitarian organizations face two main dilemmas. From the ethical standpoint, they have to define their view of what constitutes acceptable compromise—a morally decent policy of assistance. From the political standpoint, they must determine how to increase their leverage and bargaining power. Humanitarian organizations usually employ a standard narrative whose ideal type is "humanitarian crisis". The resources that humanitarian actors are able to mobilize in their many negotiations with the actors are of two kinds, material and symbolic. The chapter presents an overview of the actors in the political–humanitarian arena and their various interests. It describes how humanitarian institutions—i.e., UN organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and Red Cross entities distributing aid in the name of humanitarian principles, to the victims of war and natural disasters—have sought since the end of the Cold War to position themselves in the ethical and political dilemmas arising from their inevitable participation in global and local politics.