The Evolving Humanitarian Landscape: Rise of the Asia–Pacific Region

Abstract

This collection offers insights of the international humanitarian system from within the Asia–Pacific. It adds to the conversation on reforming the global humanitarian system by providing the space to share perspectives of what constitutes humanitarian action from our place in the world. This collection considers what constitutes humanitarianism in the Asia–Pacific, and how it shapes policy and practice in the region and globally. The authors in this collection answer these questions by focusing on a range of issues from national to sectoral perspectives to relations between ‘traditional’ and ‘emerging’ players. The authors conclude that the dynamics of the humanitarian system from the perspectives of the Asia–Pacific are rooted in their localized experiences and built outwards. The first significant trend is that understandings of humanitarianism the Asia–Pacific are primarily shaped by the experience of disasters at home. Second, national governments play a dominant role in humanitarian affairs in the region. Finally, the humanitarian landscape in the Asia–Pacific constitutes a diverse yet under-appreciated set of actors.