Nonhuman Humanitarians: Animal Interventions in Global Politics

In Nonhuman Humanitarians, Benjamin Meiches explores the role of animals laboring alongside humans in humanitarian operations, generating new ethical possibilities of care in humanitarian practice. He argues that nonhuman animal contributions problematize foundational assumptions about the emotional and rational capacities of humanitarian actors and the ethical focus on human suffering.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 10 July 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Both critical and mainstream scholarly work on humanitarianism have largely been framed from anthropocentric perspectives highlighting humanity as the rationale for providing care to others. In Nonhuman Humanitarians, Benjamin Meiches explores the role of animals laboring alongside humans in humanitarian operations, generating new ethical possibilities of care in humanitarian practice.

Nonhuman Humanitarians examines how these animals not only improve specific practices of humanitarian aid but have started to transform the basic tenets of humanitarianism. Analyzing case studies of mine-clearance dogs, milk-producing cows and goats, and disease-identifying rats, Nonhuman Humanitarians ultimately argues that nonhuman animal contributions problematize foundational assumptions about the emotional and rational capacities of humanitarian actors as well as the ethical focus on human suffering that defines humanitarianism.

Meiches reveals that by integrating nonhuman animals into humanitarian practice, several humanitarian organizations have effectively demonstrated that care, compassion, and creativity are creaturely rather than human and that responses to suffering and injustice do not—and cannot—stop at the boundaries of the human.

In conclusion, Nonhuman Humanitarians is a groundbreaking book that challenges our assumptions about the role of animals in humanitarian operations and offers new ethical possibilities for care in humanitarian practice. By integrating nonhuman animals into humanitarian practice, we can expand our understanding of what it means to be compassionate and effective in responding to suffering and injustice, and we can create a more just and compassionate world for all.

Weight: 314g
Dimension: 139 x 216 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517913854