An institution standing the test of time? A review of 150 years of the history of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Abstract

Daniel Palmieri is the historical research officer at the ICRC. He is the author of numerous works on ICRC history and on the history of war. AbstractThis article seeks to explain how the ICRCthe oldest international humanitarian organization still in activityhas managed to pass through 150 years of existence. By analysing some key moments in ICRC history and by examining both its inner workings and their interaction with the context within which the organization has functioned over time, this article finds two characteristics that may help explain the ICRC's continuity: its unique specificity and its innovative capacity.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was born out of a wager on the future by five Geneva citizens. The five met on 17 February 1863 to consider the proposals made by one of them and to simultaneously form a 'Permanent

The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook

“…The ICRC's founders, "the original five" (Palmieri 2012(Palmieri : 1275, were driven by the same spirit: "Genevan exceptionalism," Forsythe argues in his seminal treatise, led to "the collective self-image, no doubt partially the product of Calvinism, that the citizens of Geneva constituted a special people with a positive role to play in the larger world" (2005: 17). Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier, Théodore Maunoir, Louis Appia, and General Guillaume Henri Dufour shared not only the same home-town and the same worldview, but they were all Protestants and members of the same social class (Forsythe 2005: 175;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1275. Co-optation led, for a long time, to self-replication, as the new members resembled their predecessors in origin, class, religion, and gender, often even related to each other (Forsythe 2005: 203;Moorehead 1998: 60;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1280Palmieri -1281.…”

“…Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier, Théodore Maunoir, Louis Appia, and General Guillaume Henri Dufour shared not only the same home-town and the same worldview, but they were all Protestants and members of the same social class (Forsythe 2005: 175;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1275. Co-optation led, for a long time, to self-replication, as the new members resembled their predecessors in origin, class, religion, and gender, often even related to each other (Forsythe 2005: 203;Moorehead 1998: 60;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1280Palmieri -1281. The resulting homogeneity of the committee rendered any program or statutes obsolete (Favez 1989: 29).…”

“…The resulting homogeneity of the committee rendered any program or statutes obsolete (Favez 1989: 29). The committee first broke with recruiting traditions in 1918, as it became the first organization of international repute to elect a woman, Renée-Marguerite Cramer, to its governing body-aside from her gender, though, she fulfilled the usual criteria (Favez 1989: 28;Forsythe 2005: 41 and 203;Moorehead 1998: 60 and 260;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1279. Five years later, the first non-Genevan and the first Catholic would follow.…”

“…Aside from mono-nationality being a guarantor for stability and an insulation from international politics, it has generally become less problematic due to an internal power shift. During the 1970s, the leadership role has increasingly moved from the assembly and the presidency to the directorate (Forsythe 2005: 201;Palmieri 2012Palmieri : 1292 which is nowadays reflective of the ICRC's internationality and gender equality as it currently consists for the first time in the organization's history of more women than men (ICRC 2018a(ICRC , 2018b.…”

The origins of the British Red Cross Society and the politics and practices of relief in war, 1870-1906

“…1 These institutional histories do not evade controversy or shy away from the challenging assertion that today their core values are being overshadowed by a bureaucratic imperative (Palmieri 2012). But they do describe an organisation with a taken-for granted status and long-standing influence.…”