What Brings Us Together?: Platforms, common humanity and the challenges of post-humanitarian communication

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the concept of common humanity in humanitarian communication. Whereas NGOs in humanitarianism and development cooperation have relied on the construction of a ‘human identity’, the current ‘post-humanitarian’ condition is characterized by increased critique and cultural disintegration. NGOs struggle with the colonial legacy of their work and the (audio-visual) language that they use, whilst being confronted with both conservative and progressive critiques. Parallel to this, the rise of digital media complicates their aim to construct a consistent narrative about international solidarity. In this dissertation it is argued that an important strategy for NGOs in reinventing themselves is to set-up platform-like structures. Four such platforms are scrutinized here: (1) a platform that aims to combat fragmentation, (2) a platform that reflects on critiques, (3) a platform that tells (new) utopian stories, and (4) a platform to disseminate a range of different approaches to international solidarity. However, these platforms do not always succeed or allow for sufficient room to contemplate structural revisions in the discourse of international development. Particularly, the lack of attention for historical and political roots of (global) inequality impedes a fundamental reorientation of humanitarian communication.