Exploring the Motives of Humanitarian Aid: A Comparative Study

If we consider humanitarian aid a possible expression of altruism, to what extent is aid giving shaped by altruistic versus self-interested motivations? Do these behaviors change under duress? I use panel data from 2001-2015... [ view full abstract ]

If we consider humanitarian aid a possible expression of altruism, to what extent is aid giving shaped by altruistic versus self-interested motivations? Do these behaviors change under duress? I use panel data from 2001-2015 to explore the motivations behind humanitarian aid. I follow humanitarian aid flows from the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs from the US, Germany, and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). In this way, I compare the state behavior of US and Germany to analyze the effects of different social and political histories on aid programs. I find that the historical economic roots of trade continue to affect Germany’s aid decisions. I find that the US continues to promote democracy through aid, as a remnant of its Cold War diplomacy. I compare Germany to ECHO to evaluate how states and IGOs differ in their approaches to humanitarian aid. I find that because ECHO is chartered to be a neutral and impartial humanitarian actor, it does adhere more closely to these norms than Germany. Nonetheless, ECHO’s connection to the European Union (EU) threatens the purity of humanitarianism. I use the 2008 financial crisis as a proxy for duress to test the limits of actors’ professed altruism. I find notable differences in aid allocation pre-2008 and post-2008 that suggest duress impacts aid decisions. Both need and self-interest play a role in humanitarian aid allocation; the type of actor and time period determine the extent to which each of these is prioritized.