The afterlife of buzzwords: the journey of rights-based approaches through the humanitarian sector

Borgrevink, Kaja; Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora

doi:10.1080/13642987.2021.1916476

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(11 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Developing and improving the model became a stated goal of the government. Since the 1990s, the idea of the ‘Norwegian model’ has appeared in policy documents and is understood as originating from the country’s long tradition of including civil society engagement in its internal governance (Borchgrevink and Sandvik, 2022).…”

Section: Historical Context: State Intervention and ‘Norway As Humani...mentioning

confidence: 99%

If ‘it all breaks down’: The Norwegian refugee crisis as a geography of chaos

Jumbert,

Sandvik,

Tjønn

2023

Environ Plan D

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How did the arrival of growing numbers of refugees and migrants in a non-violent setting and high-income country like Norway become framed as a ‘humanitarian crisis’ and with what consequences? In this article, we examine the framing and responses to the influx of refugees and other migrants to Norway in 2015–16, in and around Oslo and in the Arctic region of Storskog, along the Russian border. Our analysis draws on two theoretical contributions: work on ‘crisis and chaos’ and the idea of ‘chaotic geographies’, and work on the ‘humanitarian arena’ . Taking a tripartite approach, we study how time, space and different levels of response (citizen volunteers, established humanitarian actors and the state) contributed to the framing of the situation as a humanitarian crisis, and the consequences of this. We show that Norway is a political and geographical outlier, and that the state’s response to this ‘humanitarian crisis’ and potentially chaotic situation was seen as both appropriate and legitimate. We argue this helped ‘de-escalate’ the chaotic geography.

show abstract

Section: Historical Context: State Intervention and ‘Norway As Humani...mentioning

confidence: 99%

If ‘it all breaks down’: The Norwegian refugee crisis as a geography of chaos

Jumbert,

Sandvik,

Tjønn

2023

Environ Plan D

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Buzzwords are technical words or phrases that are fashionable within a profession or field of practice for a limited amount of time (Borgrevink & Sandvik, 2022). Cornwall and Brock (2005) describe development buzzwords as a seductive mix of words that play an important part in framing solutions to world problems.…”

Section: Literature On Development Buzzwordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, they emphasise that the functions of development buzzwords vary, some buzzwords lose priority, others persist over time, yet others lose substance. Borgrevink and Sandvik (2022) argue that buzzwords do not get lost in translation; rather, they find new forms over time.…”

Section: Literature On Development Buzzwordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why is financial inclusion so popular? An analysis of development buzzwords

Ozili¹,

Mhlanga

2023

J of Intl Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We analyse the popularity of the term ‘financial inclusion’ in relation to other development buzzwords. We extract trend data for multiple development buzzwords across countries and cities from 2004 to 2022, and we run a series of empirical analyses. We find that the ‘financial inclusion’ buzzword is popular because the term ‘financial inclusion’ is correlated with other development buzzwords, particularly ‘microfinance’, ‘digital finance’, ‘inclusive finance’, ‘financial exclusion’ and ‘Fintech’ buzzwords. Financial inclusion buzzword is more popular in developing countries than in developed countries. Financial inclusion buzzword is also popular in major cities in developing countries. We also observe that the financial inclusion buzzword was more popular during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. There is uni‐directional causality between interest in financial inclusion and interest in fintech and inclusive finance, indicating that interest in financial inclusion buzzword causes interest in fintech and inclusive finance buzzword. There is also uni‐directional causality between interest in financial exclusion and interest in financial inclusion. Finally, there is a significant correlation between interest in the ‘financial inclusion’, ‘digital finance’, ‘inclusive finance’ and ‘Fintech’ buzzwords.

show abstract

“…Anchored in the notion of universal human rights, RBAs represent a radical, ideological shift in the philosophy of aid, placing the entitlements of individuals centre stage. Although the concept has lost its initial buzz, it has remained surprisingly resilient (Borchgrevink and Sandvik, 2021) and continues to inform humanitarian discourses and practices (Nelson and Dorsey, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating rights and faith: a study of rights‐based approaches to humanitarian action in Pakistan

Borchgrevink

2022

Disasters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

‘Rights‐based approaches’ (RBAs) have become a well‐established concept over the past two decades, informing the work of diverse actors involved in development and humanitarian aid. Faith‐based organisations have increasingly embraced the RBA, although not without contestation. Drawing on new qualitative data from Pakistan, this paper examines how ‘global’ RBA norms are operationalised in ‘local’ contexts characterised by great normative diversity and identifies three dominant normative frameworks used by non‐governmental organisations in the translation of RBAs: humanitarian standards; citizens' rights; and Islamic principles. It utilises a case study of RBAs in Pakistan and reveals the significance of religion and religious entities in the translation of rights. From this example, the paper makes a conceptual distinction between ‘instrumental’ and ‘substantial’ modes of engagement, a framing that allows for a more detailed analysis of how humanitarian actors deal with religion and rights than what is often found in studies of humanitarian action.

show abstract

The afterlife of buzzwords: the journey of rights-based approaches through the humanitarian sector

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

If ‘it all breaks down’: The Norwegian refugee crisis as a geography of chaos

If ‘it all breaks down’: The Norwegian refugee crisis as a geography of chaos

Why is financial inclusion so popular? An analysis of development buzzwords

Negotiating rights and faith: a study of rights‐based approaches to humanitarian action in Pakistan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About