Operating in Conflict. Current Practices in the Development Community

摘要

Since the end of the cold war, foreign aid has been increasingly targeted at failing and failed states. Two-thirds of the countries that USAID works in have experienced conflict during the last five years. This shift in focus carries with it the need for humanitarian organizations to operate in countries experiencing civil war, ethnic conflict, and difficult transitions into democracy. Many development groups lack the tools and know-how to operate in unstable environments and are forced to make ad hoc changes to projects when they wish to continue providing assistance. Some efforts have been successful. More often, they have not fulfilled their objectives. As more relief agencies have realized the need to establish best practices and determine under which conditions development work is appropriate, disagreements have arisen.