ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 explores travelling and its functional effects on the humanitarian figure, both as intermediary and broker. It considers this mobility and its established place in the humanitarian endeavour through three interrelated ideas: the international humanitarian traveller; the solidly set local staff they rely upon; and “the field” where they work, which is defined in opposition to “the centre”. This travel has significant structural effects, allowing international humanitarians to transfer knowledge across these two spaces, and casting them as the neutral and impartial outsider. However, a state of constant transience is also responsible for some of the most problematic aspects of the humanitarian sector, such as the common phenomenon of international expats imposing outside values and norms on a context they do not fully understand. Furthermore, travel works to sustain the power imbalance between the international humanitarian, expert in the official laws and principles, and local staff, who are cast in a supporting role despite the significance of their local knowledge for implementing the humanitarian fix.
