Introduction

Abstract

Humanitarianism has arguably become the key frame through which the multifarious actors of the world evaluate each other’s legitimacy and determine their roles in the current world. The emerging “humanitarian paradigm” has become an essential expression of what is meant by “international community” and the contemporary world order behind it. This book examines the patterns of co-option and collaboration between the ethical and political traditions of humanitarianism in various world political spectacles: September 11, 2001 (9/11), the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Darfur, SARS and avian flu, and the U.S. transformational HIV/AIDS diplomacy.