The Problems with Humanitarian Borders

Abstract

This text engages a critical analysis of humanitarian discourses and practices regarding our understanding of migration and the public policies developed in relation to the population movementsacross international borders. It is based on the premise that humanitarianism, even if well intentioned, can have pernicious effects if, eventually, it ends up replacing justice and migrants’ rights. To explore this paradox, the paper sequentially analyzes various problems associated with humanitarian aid: the problem of innocence —the understanding of refugees as victims calls for humanitarian compassion—; the problem with emergency —«rapid response» operations inhibit the contextualized and historical understanding of the root causes of the problems—; and, finally, the problem of compassion —humanitarianism privilegessentiments over rights. The study of these three key features of humanitarianism in Europe and the USA fosters a healthy skepticism of the emerging forms of the legitimation of exclusion. The article also explores alternative political and discursive strategies which allow for new imaginaries to confront migratory processes beyond borders and humanitarianism, breaking up their dynamic of reproduction of social inequalities and placing justice in the horizon of action.