The Paradoxes of Aid Work

This book explores what attracts people to aid work and to what extent the promises of aid work are fulfilled. 'Aidland' is a highly complex and heterogeneous context which includes many different occupations, forms of employment, and organizations. Analysing the processes that lead to the involvement in development cooperation, emergency relief, and human rights work, and tracing the pathways into and through Aidland, the book addresses working and living conditions in Aidland, gender relations, and inequality among aid personnel, and what impact aid work has on the life courses of aid workers.

In order to capture the trajectories that lead to Aidland, a biographical perspective is employed. This reveals that boundary crossing between development cooperation, emergency relief, and human rights is not unusual, and that considering these fields as separate spheres might overlook important connections. Rich reflexive data is used to theorise about the often contradictory experiences of people working in aid whose careers are shaped by geo-politics, changing priorities of donors, and a changing composition of the aid sector.

Exploring the life worlds of people working in aid, The Paradoxes of Aid Work contributes to the emerging sociology and anthropology of aid work and will be of interest to professionals and researchers in humanitarian and development studies, sociology, anthropology, political science and international relations, international social work, and social psychology.