Join this workshop that aims to bring together scholars and researchers to discuss humanitarian aid interventions financed and implemented by the Gulf States, especially in conflict-affected and protracted-crisis contexts.
The main objective of this event is to go beyond the description of the Gulf States' aid landscapes to observe and compare their aid approaches and impact on humanitarian crises, especially during conflicts. For this reason, it will be useful to explore and compare some case studies in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, especially in the countries where the Gulf States are financing relief interventions with different approaches and strategies.
Most of the literature on Gulf States’ foreign aid has focused on its characteristics, allocation, and motivations. However, the impact of aid on recipient contexts is still understudied and underestimated for two main reasons: a lack of data on the monitoring and evaluation process of donors and implementing agencies (including NGOs), and a lack of studies on Gulf States as donors which represents a growing trend in research. Regarding the first aspect, some efforts have been undertaken by bilateral agencies (i.e., Qatar Fund for Development, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development) and charities (Qatar Charity has launched its first Impact Annual Report to improve its accountability on beneficiaries and projects implemented).
The overall programme of this workshop will observe aid interventions financed by Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait in Syria (including the Syrian refugee issue), Yemen, Palestine, and the Horn of Africa trying to expand the conceptualisation of intervention as an attempt to influence, negatively or positively, the political context of those countries and respond to the effective needs of affected communities. Different approaches to the same humanitarian needs show how aid could be shaped by donors in line with their strategies. At the same time, the changing nature of humanitarian crises might evidence some best practices and the adaptive capacities of these donors in the region.