Decolonize Humanitarianism

What if one of the world's most celebrated moral ideals has become a vehicle for power rather than justice?

Humanitarianism is widely understood as a force for compassion, relief, and human dignity. But in Decolonize Humanitarianism, Bhakti Shringarpure argues that the modern humanitarian industry cannot be separated from the colonial histories that shaped it—or from the systems of power it continues to sustain.

Tracing humanitarianism from European colonial expansion to today's vast network of NGOs, charities, philanthropies, and aid organizations, Shringarpure reveals how humanitarian intervention has become entwined with militarism, corporate interests, border regimes, and the politics of permanent emergency. She examines the enduring appeal of white saviorism and the ways it has become embedded in contemporary culture, from literature and film to volunteer tourism and global philanthropy.

Both a sweeping historical critique and a bold anticolonial manifesto, Decolonize Humanitarianism challenges one of the defining moral narratives of our time and asks what genuine international solidarity might look like beyond charity, paternalism, and empire.