The major humanitarian crises of recent years are well known: the Shoah, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Rwandan genocide, the massacre in Bosnia, and the tsunami in Southeast Asia, as well as the bloody conflicts in South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan. Millions have been killed and many millions more have been driven from their homes; the number of refugees and internally displaced persons has reached record levels. Could these crises have been prevented? Why do they continue to happen? This book seeks to understand how humanity itself is in crisis, and what we can do about it.
Hollenbach draws on the values that have shaped major humanitarian initiatives over the past century and a half, such as the commitments of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, as well as the values of diverse religious traditions, including Catholicism, to examine the scope of our responsibilities and practical solutions to these global crises. He also explores the economic and political causes of these tragedies, and uncovers key moral issues for both policy-makers and for practitioners working in humanitarian agencies and faith communities.
Table of Contents
1 Threats to Humanity
2 Humanity as Moral Standard
3 Religious Traditions and Humanitarian Response
4 Religious Action Today
5 Borders and Shared Humanity
6 Rights and Negative Duties
7 Positive Duties and Shared Responsibility
8 Acting across Borders
9 Justice and Root Causes
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Reviews
"In Humanity in Crisis, moral theologian and social ethicist David Hollenbach, SJ provides a powerful framework for responding to the complex, large-scale humanitarian crises that have forcibly displaced record numbers of human beings. This important volume lifts up major debates in the refugee studies field, illustrates them with case studies, and identifies religious, ethical and legal resources to address them. At a time when many developed states have shunned (not shared) responsibility for forced migrants, Hollenbach offers a language and moral vision rooted in human dignity and solidarity. Ultimately, this is a hopeful book, drawing on successful and integrated responses to past conflicts and other refugee-producing conditions, to guide current responses."—Donald Kerwin, Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies of New York
"I wholeheartedly recommend Humanity in Crisis for courses engaging the study of migration (broadly construed) in theology, ethics, international relations, peace studies, and nonprofit management at both the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels."—Journal of Catholic Social Thought
"This author never falls into platitudes or easy solutions. His is a thoughtful and challenging book that invites the reader to ponder the profundities that can move us beyond the present even while he examines the past that led us here. Five stars!"—Catholic Books Review
"Hollenbach’s book demonstrates powerfully how conflict and nat- ural disaster forcibly displace people and threaten their human rights."—Journal of Church and State
"I believe the book to be a valuable contribution to the debate on the future of human rights and humanitarianism."—Gregorianum
About the Author
David Hollenbach, SJ, is the Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Research Professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, a senior fellow of the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and an affiliated professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books, including The Global Face of Public Faith (GUP, 2004), and the editor of Driven From Home: Protecting the Rights of Forced Migrants (GUP 2010) and Refugee Rights: Ethics, Advocacy, and Africa (GUP 2008).
