"DOING GOOD": Ethics, Power and Privilege in International Engagement

A Thought Project by the interdisciplinary students of the Graduate Institute, Geneva

As the world continues to navigate its way through the pandemic, as new spaces for reflection have opened up, we are thinking deeply about what ‘doing good’ in the world really means.

Concerned about the world we live in, recognising the unique position of the Graduate Institute in international affairs, and—as Graduate Institute students—the privileges that come with being part of the next generation of global leaders, we are serious about questioning the ethical and moral imperatives laying at the foundations of international engagement. Our cohort is filled with students eager to push towards a world that is more courageous, a world where everyone cares about each other’s dignity.

Our world is in critical need of visionary and ethical leadership. In this special series, 21 MA students from the Graduate Institute Interdisciplinary programmes reflect on the power and privileges inherent in international aid and development approaches. We consider the harms that can be done when assumptions about ‘doing good’ are not problematised.

We are committed to making the work of international engagement more honest and thus more effective. By engaging in difficult conversations, clarifying and asking questions, we critically examine what ‘doing good’ requires.

Through six special editions, released between March and May 2021, our multi-media platform includes original podcasts, book and film reviews, and blogs and video shorts. We reflect on the following themes:

Each special edition presents an opportunity to reflect, to listen deeply, to grow. We hope that through this series, we can find a collective place of hope, inspiration and action.

We welcome you to join the conversation via Instagram @de160thoughtproject  
or by writing to us at: de160thoughtprojectiheid@gmail.com

To find out more about the origins of the Thought Project, read this interview.

On behalf of the The Thought Project Team, we wish you well.

SPECIAL ISSUE 6

Reimagining the world

Luise

Luise Garleff (she/her/hers) is a MA Interdisciplinary Development Studies candidate at the Graduate Institute with a special interest in artistic, social and political expression and a passion for knowledge popularisation as well as bridging cultural, political, and creative spaces and minds. Beyond that, Luise is passionate about and dedicated to breaking with perpetuated systemic exclusion – rebalancing gendered and racialized power inequalities – by building and cultivating new inclusive, innovative, and creative ecosystems.

Samantha

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Samantha Elaine Groulx (she/her) is a MA Development Studies candidate at the Graduate Institute, with a passionate focus on Ethics and Global Health.

Alice

Alice Maréchal is a master’s candidate in Development Studies from France majoring in Power and Conflict. She has a keen interest in social, environmental and economic justice, human rights and democracies.

Ana Carla

Ana Carla Carlos is a master's candidate in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute and passionate about human development. Born and raised in Brazil, Ana is committed to reducing inequalities in Latin America and promoting opportunities of participation, empowerment and quality of life for vulnerable groups, especially children and adolescents.

Reimagining the world

by Ana Carla Carlos

In the aftermath of the pandemic, we dived into a sea of conversations and reflections, including what the real meaning of ‘doing good’ is. Throughout this journey, and with a deep and sincere commitment to creating a world with more courage, enthusiasm and humanization, in the Thought Project we developed original podcasts, film reviews, books, videos and blogs that reflected on the several issues of power and privilege deeply rooted in international engagement.

Now it is time to reimagine our world…What is the world we want? This short film reflects upon the six editions of the On ‘Doing Good’ Thought Project: what we have learned, discussed, and what is the impact we want to create in the world?

Reimagining the world

Reinventing ‘doing good’ through radical engagement

by Alice Maréchal

War, pandemics, racism, patriarchy, capitalism, nationalism, and climate change: our world does not appear to be a great place to live. ‘Doing good’ can seem to be a herculean task, a fantasy, and people can easily fall for cynicism and individualism.
 
This blogpost is a condensed summary of an essay produced for the DE160 class. In this paper I argued that although ‘doing good’ is an equivocal concept, it is always a reaction to a specific environment. In our current world, ‘doing good’ should mainly be a synonym of radical engagement.

Precariousness
Precariousness is a “common vulnerability”, a shared relational human condition implying that we are dependent on and made vulnerable to others(1). Although precariousness is a universal condition, it is experienced in very singular ways because of institutions, socio-economic and political mechanisms that allow for an unequal distribution of the conditions of life.

The covid-19 pandemic has made more visible those inequalities, this unequal distribution of the conditions of life, and eventually how some lives are not considered and treated the same.
 
Violence
One way of understanding those inequalities is through the lens of globalization. We are made vulnerable to one another because we live in an ever more interconnected world allowing for a greater interdependency of our lives. On the other hand, we have to consider mechanisms allowing for systemic violence to happen. This is what Pierre Bourdieu refers to as symbolic violence, an invisible violence (re)produced by social and economic structures and legitimizing the domination of certain groups possessing greater power(2). If we want to reduce any kind of violence, we need to work on that invisible violence happening everyday all around us.
 
Systemic violence and inequalities call for global systemic changes. ‘Doing good’ falls within that framework, and I believe that radicality lies at the heart of every meaningful engagement aiming at systemic changes.

(out)Rage
‘Doing good’ must start with a sense of injustice but also the conviction that our actions can have a positive outcome and induce systemic changes. This feeling is what Hannah Arendt refers to as rage when realizing that changes are possible, but nothing is done and that “justice is offended”(3). This feeling is also the one of outrage as developed by Stéphane Hessel, a driving force pushing us to fight for causes and ideas we value(4).

________
1. Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence / Judith Butler (New York: Verso, 2020).
2. Pierre Bourdieu, “Les Sciences Sociales Et La Démocratie” 1997.
3. Hannah Arendt, “A Special Supplement: Reflections on Violence”, The New York Review of Books, October 6, 2020, https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1969/02/27/a-special-supplement-reflec….
4. Stéphane Hessel, Indignez-Vous ! (Montpellier : Indigène, 2012).

 

If (out)rage is the first step towards making the world a better place, our shared vulnerability also makes us accountable to all humanity. But what does this concretely mean? By acknowledging the very vulnerability of our lives, we can then recognize precariousness in others, and this shared vulnerability eventually makes us accountable to others. Because our lives are interdependent, what I am doing here in Geneva has impacts on the other side of the world and what affects someone on the other side of the world will eventually affect me. Being accountable to one another by a thread of vulnerability is what forces us, especially in the context of climate change, to engage radically and do good. This crisis may not directly impact you as a person, but some populations are already made more precarious because of it and we are accountable to them and generations to come.

Radical engagement
When working on that essay, I dived into Judith Butler’s work and was struck by what she calls an ethical obligation to be unrealistic: “Sometimes you have to imagine in a radical way that makes you seem a little crazy, that puts you in an embarrassing light, in order to open up a possibility that others have already closed down with their knowing realism”(5). Being unrealistic, thinking radically and acting accordingly are weapons at the service of broader political struggles for social, economic and environmental justice and against any kind of systemic violence.
 
One question you can already ask yourself is: how do you see the world in 50 years?
My vision is simple: I wish the world to slow down in fifty years. Working less, producing less, consuming less but engaging in more meaningful activities and relationships. Slowing down is the first step towards a more sustainable, equal, and fairer world. And today, I accept to be seen as radical when I say that our world desperately needs us to work less, redistribute and limit the amount of wealth one can accumulate, and reconnect with our humanity.
 
What are you waiting for?
The past year has been characterized by fear, violence, and uncertainty. Even though the future of our generation seems more than uncertain, light has emerged through movements like BLM which imagined new possibilities for a better world. What we will do with those possibilities will determine our future as a society.

Change will come in many ways, through daily individual actions, collective bottom-up movements but also people at the top, all envisioning new radical possibilities for a better world. But building a better world will require all of us to remove ourselves from a state of collective anesthesia, be outraged, stand against injustices and reinvent a world beyond the realistic limits imposed to us.

 


 

________
5. Masha Gessen, Rachel Shteir, and Pankaj Mishra, “Judith Butler Wants Us to Reshape Our Rage,” The New Yorker, February 9, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/judith-butle….

Change will come in many ways, through daily individual actions, collective bottom-up movements but also people at the top, all envisioning new radical possibilities for a better world
Alice Maréchal

A book review of “Feminism Without Borders”

by Samantha Elaine Groulx

The identification as a woman has political consequences in the world we live in. No matter where we are located, the interweaving processes of sexism, racism, misogyny, and heterosexism are integral to our social fabric. Depending on a woman's economic and social marginality or privilege, she is likely to bear unjust or unfair effects, and while we may share collective struggles, we do not share collective stories. In her review of Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by feminist scholar and activist Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Samantha Elaine Groulx analyzes and contextualizes the dangers of assuming a ‘collective sisterhood’.

Feminism Without Borders, Mohanty Image
Samantha Elaine

A book review of “Feminism Without Borders”

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When writing on women in the Global South, Western feminists must be considerate of the context of the global hegemony of western scholarship.
Samantha Elaine

(Re)doing good - decolonization of language

By Luise Garleff

Do the languages we speak shape the way we see the world, the way we think, and the way we live our lives? Yes – a lot! Language matters – Appreciating its role in constructing our mental lives, and being mindful of its power, brings us one step closer to understanding the very nature of humanity and disrupting traditional power structures.  This last edition of the Thought Project takes you on a journey to reflect on different ways to reimagine the world. As part of the ‘(Re)doing good’ podcast series, this podcast especially sheds light on the racist and colonial history of language, and language as a tool which replicates dominant structures of Whiteness. Reimagining the world, in this context, hence means Reimagining language – the uniquely human gift, central to our experience of being human. This podcast presents some ideas on how to unlearn and decolonize language and move towards a more human-centered and empathetic way of speaking. Language can help us to dismantle white supremacy, create the future we want. It can create discourses, movements. It shapes the stories we construct of places, of people, and finally of the policies and decisions we make.

This special episode is a collaboration with another podcast called ‘The Hard Talk’, featuring two special guests: Vivian Ejezie and Ivy Wandia.

Unlearning and decolonizing language is a necessary part of our re-education. A fundamental change is needed to truly achieve justice and help us to dismantle white supremacy.
Luise Garleff

SPECIAL ISSUE 5

Environmental Ethics

Marine

Marine Krieger is a master student in International Affairs with two years of professional experience in gender, peace and security. At the Graduate Institute, she majors in Global Security and minors in Power, Conflict and Development.

Yiyi Liu

Yiyi Liu is currently a master's candidate in Development Studies specializing in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities at the Graduate Institute, with two years of professional experience in migration and urban issues. Her interests include migration (the marginalised on the move), rural-urban linkages and gender equality.

Nicolle

Nicolle Renion is a master in Development Studies student from the Philippines, specializing in Environment, Resources and Sustainability. Her interests include rural finance and food systems.

Camille

Camille François is a master's candidate in Development studies, with a specialization in Environment, Resources and Sustainability. She is interested in cultural and natural heritage, social projects, human rights, and ethics.

Arveen

Arveen Sodhi is a master's candidate in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute Geneva specializing in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities with a minor in Power and Conflict. She is interested in human rights, ethics, displacement and migration, and environmental protection.

The Thought Project’s Kitchen

by Camille François, Yiyi Liu, Nicolle Renion and Arveen Sodhi

In the “Thought Project Kitchen”, four students, Arveen, Camille, Nicolle and Yiyi, prepare a sustainable meal while discussing the sustainability of the food we eat and how to make better decisions regarding our diets and consumption. For more sustainable advice and recipes, read the Food for Thought cookbook.

The Thought Project's Kitchen
Food is such a basic part of our everyday life that we forgot how powerful it can be.
Camille François

On Identity, Dignity and the Environment

by Nicolle Renion

Policies have a principle and a pragmatic level. The principle upholds a value and triggers the justification for the intervention, while the pragmatic discusses the circumstances and resources that allow for the actualization of the principle. I understand that both are needed, but my insight has, for the longest time, been that if the principle can be justified as crucial and pivotal to our identity, then the pragmatic must adjust- the financing must make way, the logistics must prioritize, all means must be exhausted. Regardless of the costs or workload, the value and the principle must be protected.

I used to form my opinion on the environment this way- as if the issue is black and white, and as though the good is always clear. I was wrong. Perhaps, like many, I was blindsided by the lack of awareness of motivations, incentives, social and economic infrastructures that ultimately influence our decision-making process, the same set of decisions that eventually build upon our identity.

Thinking that principle is more important seems policy deaf because sometimes, despite our best efforts, it is difficult to almost impossible to protect all values with the existing political, cultural, and financial constraints. It makes me wonder what is the point of studying ethics if, despite understanding what the ethical choice is, one is not able to act ethically. Perhaps that is why ethics has to be discussed alongside power and privilege. Also, it opens discourse on whether a strong conviction can limit one’s ability to engage hence risking being a fault rather than a virtue.

Dignity to me means identity, and our ability to deconstruct and rebuild our identity in the future. It is hinged on our capacity to protect the worth we levy on ourselves, as well as the capability to uphold shared identities. This has several implications. One being that dignity goes beyond merely being alive and taps into the part of how one gets to live that life. This definition also means that we protect one’s ability to imagine and dream an identity for the self. Further, it entails being empowered sufficiently to materialize that imagination. People seek that chance- or life- that would allow them to get closer to the identity they want for themselves.

Perhaps this could mean they are yet to know what they want exactly- but dignity entails being able to keep that choice for yourself - of how you want to form your identity. However, these are only as good as being informed sufficiently of the implications of these choices.

I say, identity-formation is an active and conscious choice rather than a passive one. Engaging, however, the interest on the environment, is there such a thing as a right choice or a correct identity- an individual immensely partial towards protecting the environment? I think, in this issue, the answer is yes. With what method and at what point in the gradience- this is the space for further discourse. But doing good, I believe, means taking on the responsibility to be better and more knowledgeable so when faced with choices of trade-offs against short-term economic gains, etc., we are armed with precise and innovative ideas that eliminate or limit the damages we inflict.

Identity-formation cannot be completed in a vacuum. It exists in a state of constant tension, constant bargaining with the rest of society as we develop a shared identity that frames our collective interests. Many of our choices affect one another.

Identities and priorities can change, and dignity must be able to protect one’s ability to revise, revert and evolve towards a new identity. While anger, aggression and ostracization may work on some fronts, the ability to reform identities, and to choose the environment must be made easy.

It is then well within the overall framework of dignity protection that we curate economic, political and social institutions in such a way that people could actualize their principled choice to shift lifestyles and protect the environment. This translates to, for example, increasing access to sustainable food options, affordable low-emitting appliances and efficient mass transport systems, as well as integrating the environment into education curriculum- steps that aims to restructure systems, reform policies, and give more access to relevant information and choices.

Inevitably, however, this whole process is an extension of our convictions, the re-imagining of the self, and our roles in this shared space. In any case, the dichotomy between the principle and the pragmatic is imaginary at best.

Our choices have implications beyond the obvious.
Nicolle Renion
Photo by Nicolle Renion

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE "Virunga" 

by Marine Krieger

In this review of the movie Virunga, Marine Krieger explores the challenges that come with portraying the complex nexus between human conflict and the environment. The award-winning movie tells the story of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where complex conflict dynamics are intertwined with nature conservation, resource extraction, and the country’s colonial legacy.

Virunga_Movie Review_poster.png
Marine Krieger

A film review of the movie "Virunga"

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To link the environmental issues with wider social problems concerning discrimination and exploitation is an ideal way to further develop and balance the relationship between environment and the human beings.
Yiyi Liu

Environmental ethics

By Arveen Sodhi and Yiyi Liu

In this podcast episode, Arveen and Yiyi reflect on environmental ethics and human engagement with the environment. Despite those negative interactions and failures to protect, we shall also look upon people doing good to develop harmonious relationships with nature, and remember the individual responsibility we need to shoulder.

Ethically sound decisions are sustainable decisions.
Arveen Sodhi

SPECIAL ISSUE 4

True skills for peace

Intidhar

Intidhar Amri is a master student in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute Geneva, majoring in Global Security with interest in conflict and development.

Birsu

Birsu Karaarslan is a criminologist and a master’s candidate in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute Geneva majoring in Power and Conflict; minoring in Gender Studies with a keen interest in women’s rights, human rights, humanitarian actions and peace mediation mainly focusing on the Middle East and Africa.

Samantha

Samantha Elaine Groulx:  Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Samantha Elaine is a MA Development Studies candidate at the Graduate Institute, with a passionate focus on Ethics and Global Health.

León

Manuel León is an economist from Venezuela and a master’s candidate in Development Studies. With over three years of experience in public policy consulting and development. He is majoring in Power, Conflict, and Development, and minoring in Trade and Finance. He is passionate about governance, peacebuilding, and development risks in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Yiyi Liu

Yiyi Liu is currently a master's candidate in Development Studies specializing in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities at the Graduate Institute, with two years of professional experience in migration and urban issues. Her interests include migration (the marginalised on the move), rural-urban linkages and gender equality.

Elio

Elio Panese is a master student in Development Studies at The Graduate Institute Geneva majoring in Power and Conflict and minoring in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities with a strong interest in migration, human rights and humanitarian action.

Doing good, what does it mean for ghofran?

by Intidhar Amri

In an attempt to understand peacemaking and the complexity of doing good, Intidhar Amri visits an Informal Tented Settlement for Syrian refugees and interviews a Syrian mother and her daughter Ghofran about the financial impact of Covid-19. As she helps her mother working in the agricultural land of the host community, the film shows how online access to education has indirectly taken away Ghofran’s pleasure of having a physical classroom.

Doing good, what does it mean for Ghofran?
We are often rushed in peacemaking by focusing on cessation of hostilities or negotiating a temporary settlement. True skills of peace involve participation of the targeted community as equal partners, not only as recipients of aid.
Intidhar Amri

In the Name of Peace

by Birsu Karaarslan

I was walking by the beautiful Lac Léman thinking about my priorities - about why I am here and what I want to do with my life. Do I want to achieve academic success, obtain an amazing job or just do good? The truth is, I strive for all of these, but the fundamental reason why I am here is to do good. Before coming here, I felt alone – as if I had to carry the entire burden of the world on my shoulders. However, being here and after having participated in Geneva Peace Week in November 2020, I now feel that I can take a deep breath, because I know that I am not alone and I don’t have to do this by myself.

Now I know that there are good people in this world who are selflessly fighting for a better one - and for those who are patient, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The theme of the 2020 Geneva Peace Week was “How to rebuild trust after disruption”. At first this question felt vague and I didn’t have an immediate response – and whilst I still don’t know, I have learned that working on 3 core skills can help us reach an answer.

Peacebuilders will (hopefully) always be humans and, in a time of widespread digitalisation, we can sometimes forget what makes us human. I will therefore focus on soft-skills and the importance of them in peacebuilding. So, let’s stick to our roots and look at how we can help with the skills we already possess.

1. Listening. Listening is peacebuilding.

The night before Geneva Peace Week started, I remember Googling “how to listen”. Especially nowadays, where everything is online, listening may feel harder than ever, but it is one of the most important qualities we can have.

  • A good listener understands, and a peacebuilder who understands can help.  
  • A good listener is humble, an outsider, who is there to learn not to teach.
  • A good listener hears with clear filters, without judgement, to try to understand how to help the disrupted.
  • A good listener sees the pain, the grief behind the anger, the human behind the criminal.
  • A good listener doesn’t assume what the disrupted needs, they ask.
  • A good listener also listens to themselves; to know their own capabilities.

2. Self-awareness. In order to build peace, the peacebuilder must be self-aware.

How we listen to ourselves shapes how we listen to the world and others. And once we can listen to ourselves with clean filters, we can also do the same whilst listening to others. So, a self-aware peacebuilder is what’s needed in peacebuilding.

  • A self-aware peacebuilder knows how they can help, rather than insisting on how they want to help.
  • A self-aware peacebuilder acknowledges the privilege they have, the power they hold and knows that doing good can be a luxury.
  • A self-aware peacebuilder is humble and is aware of the gaps in their knowledge.
  • A self-aware peacebuilder realises that their intentions can often be different to the impact they cause.
  • A self-aware peacebuilder will know that they can still be capable of doing harm while trying to do good and they won’t be blinded to see the reality of the global story.
  • A self- aware peacebuilder is not greedy to change the world by themselves, and is aware that change might happen slowly, sometimes starting with one individual at a time.

3. Empathy: Without empathy, one cannot build peace.

It is easier to not empathize, to be blinded to global issues, so that one doesn’t feel responsible. But empathy is the core value we all need to better humanity, especially in order to achieve sustainable peace.

  • An empathetic peacebuilder understands, and knows that understanding is the way to achieve peace.
  • An empathetic peacebuilder sees that we are all alike.
  • An empathetic peacebuilder addresses the root causes, to understand why things happen, and therefore is capable of implementing sustainable peace.
  • An empathetic peacebuilder can help the disrupted to take a breath, and see the light and hope at the end of the tunnel.
  • An empathetic peacebuilder is patient, not rushing for forced peace, which helps to maintain sustainable peace in the long-term.  
  • To the disrupted, an empathetic peacebuilder can be a reminder of humanity.

As an aspiring peacebuilder, I am grateful to have learnt more about how to build peace and what qualities I need in order to do so. I feel fortunate that I was able to learn this, so that I can work on these skills and work to retain the true humanity in peacebuilding.

 

Illustration by Majid Adin, for Good Chance and Comic Relief Across Borders’ collective poem workshop at Geneva Peace Week
A self-aware peacebuilder will know that they can still be capable of doing harm while trying to do good and they won’t be blinded to see the reality of the global story.
Birsu Karaarslan

AN ANALYSIS OF THE book "Le Quatrième mur".

by Elio Panese

In his book review of Sorj Chalandon’s book, Le Quatrième mur (2013), Elio Panese shows how art can be powerful in peacebuilding. This award-winning novel depicts the story of Georges, the young narrator, whose life will be completely shaken up by the sickness of his best friend, Jean Anouilh’s play Antigone, and the Lebanese Civil War. This brilliant multilayered tragedy allows us to reflect upon issues of war and peace, but also family, friendship and the impact violence and conflicts have on people.

Le 4eme mur
Elio Panese

A book review of the movie "Le Quatrième mur"

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Is Compassion the Key To Peace Work?

Guests: Samantha Groulx and Manuel León
Host: Yiyi Liu

What are the true skills for peace and how do we cultivate them? In a conversation hosted by Yiyi, Samantha and Manuel reflect on compassion, and explore what makes it an essential skill for sustained peace work.

Download the full podcast transcript

When we lose our empathy, our hope and our ability to feel with those we care for, there are destructive consequences not just for ourselves, but also for the organizations we work for and the people and causes we serve.
Samantha Elaine Groulx

SPECIAL ISSUE 3

On Dignity and the human condition

Anna Becker

Anna Becker is a Brazilian psychologist and master’s candidate in Development Studies, specializing in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities. She is passionate about education, human rights, youth and others, and aims to contribute to building bridges between local and global to build more effective and ethical development practices.

Burke

Xavier Burke is a master's candidate in Development Studies with a concentration in Power and Conflict. His interests are humanitarian action and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration processes.

Camille

Camille François is a master's candidate in Development studies, specializing in Environment, Resources and Sustainability. She is interested in cultural and natural heritage, social projects, human rights, and ethics.

Anisha

Anisha Jalan is a student at the Graduate Institute, Geneva and is pursuing her Master’s in Development Studies. She is specialising in the Mobilities, Spaces and Cities track with a secondary specialisation in Power and Conflict.

León

Manuel León is an economist from Venezuela and a master’s candidate in Development Studies. With over three years of experience in public policy consulting and development. He is majoring in Power, Conflict, and Development, and minoring in Trade and Finance. He is passionate about governance, peacebuilding, and development risks in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mayuka

Having lived/studied/worked in Japan, India, Thailand, Cambodia, and the United States, Mayuka Miyagawa is currently a MA candidate in Development Studies, specializing in power, conflict, and development.

Apoorva

Apoorva Sekhar is a master's candidate in Development Studies with a specialisaiton in Power and Conflict and a minor in Cities and Mobilities with a keen interest in humanitarian work, gender, education, feminist politics and South-Asian politics.

What does dignity mean to you?

by students of the Graduate Institute

The word "dignity" is present in various situations in international engagement. However, it is as present in its narrative as it is absent in its practices. In this video, Graduate Institute students answer the question: "What does dignity mean to you?" We revisit the meaning of dignity so that we may more proactively embrace it in our everyday practices.

What does dignity mean to you?
Dignity is the ideal for which one strives, but also an unreachable end for many.
Elio Panese

What does dignity mean to you?

by Anisha Jalan

Language fails me when trying to think about what dignity means to me - a word I have so often used and heard in my life. I find myself struggling to be able to define it, just as I do with most human emotions. To try and encapsulate dignity (or love, or fear, or courage) in words, feels like risking great losses in translation - from the human soul onto texts. Moreover, giving meaning to felt emotions seems particularly difficult as they appear to carry so many meanings within them, each possibly different for every lived reality.

Having said that, I do also find truth in the deeply common and shared nature of human emotions and believe that, despite the varied layers of meaning, human emotions in their core, possibly hold a similar place for all of humanity. Drawing from that, when I think of dignity, words such as honour and respect (of oneself, of another and of the planet) come to mind; recognising, according value, and upholding another’s humanity and innate humanness comes to mind - a rather powerful self-assertion of which I find in the following quote by Lilla Watson:

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

While this helps shed some light on my subjective understanding of the human virtue of dignity, there is another (perhaps a more concrete) lens through which I make sense of it.

This ironically, is through its absence, i.e., through situations where-in a violation of dignity is felt. That which is lost when one’s humanity is humiliated or shamed, or when one is made to feel ‘less than’, helps me understand the value of dignity in its deepest sense. That which is denied in situations of exclusion, marginalisation, destitution, invisibilisation and de-humanisation, most powerfully conveys to me the meaning of dignity and honour. This may be in contexts as overt as in places of violent conflict, prisons, detention centres, refugee camps, etc; or in places more ‘intimate’ and ‘safe’ as that of the ‘home’, but its denial persists almost everywhere.

While the terrible reality of some lives and certain sections of society systematically stripped of their humanity over unimaginably long periods of time (e.g., minority religious groups, refugees, immigrants, lower-caste communities, women, etc.), is my predominant thought as I write about dignity and its abysmal negations, I also find myself thinking about the innate human capacity within each of us to either reinforce these realities or actively counter it.

While I believe that it is extremely crucial to recognise the systemic and structural processes of de-humanisation of societies, I also think that it is necessary for each one of us to  acknowledge that it is through everyday interactions, language and attitudes that we accord or strip honour from others and our own lives. And it is in this thought that I find power and solace – an ability which allows us as individuals, in small measures, to actively choose to preserve and celebrate human dignity, respect and honour, hopefully helping shape and shift collective conscience and societal realities.

It is necessary for each one of us to acknowledge that it is through our everyday interactions, language and attitudes that we accord or strip dignity from others and our own lives.
Anisha Jalan

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE "Òlòtūré" 

by Xavier Burke

In this review of 2019 Nollywood film, Òlòtūré, Xavier reflects on the heart wrenching journey many Nigerian women undertake each year as sex workers in hopes of arriving to the shores of Europe. The women navigate an underworld of drugs, violence, sexual assault, pimps, and people smugglers on their migratory journey to Europe. The film depicts the societal factors that foster the multi-billion dollar per year human trafficking rings from West Africa’s shores to the streets of European cities.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9725830/mediaviewer/rm4143214080

Oloture
Xavier Burke

A film review of the movie "Òlòtūré"

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The importance and universality of dignity

by Manuel Alejandro León

In this podcast, made in collaboration with the ‘Re-Doing Good Podcast’ we want to call for more empathy and a more human-centred language in the media, humanitarian action, and in everyday life, our aim is to bring you closer to the topic of language as a tool that can replicate dominant structures of whiteness and power.

For this Thought Project, we would like to take you on a short journey to explore the concept of ‘doing good’  what it means to us, and how we could potentially do even better in the future. We’re happy to open up this platform for political reflection and discussion.

Today we will discuss Dignity and Tolerance or the lack of it in political discourses.

Download the full podcast transcript

 

Even though there are still many different value systems and worldviews in our diverse planet, the merit for decent treatment is universal … every human being possesses dignity, a simple but important inherent quality to our humanity.
Manuel Alejandro León

SPECIAL ISSUE 2

Power, privilege, violence and invisibility

Mohammad

Mohammad Almishlawi is a master’s candidate in Development Studies specializing in Power and Conflict in addition to a secondary track in Mobilities, Spaces, and Cities. Enthusiastic about post-conflicts development and peace building processes. 

Sinan

Sinan Kirisci is a master's candidate in Development Studies at IHEID, specializing in Power, Conflict and Development with an interest in sub saharan Africa.

Nicolle

Nicolle Renion is a Master in Development Studies student from the Philippines, specializing in Environment, Resources and Sustainability. Her interests include rural finance and food systems.

Alice

Alice Maréchal is a master’s candidate in Development Studies from France majoring in Power and Conflict. She has a keen interest in social, environmental and economic justice, human rights and democracies.

Apoorva

Apoorva Sekhar is a master's candidate in Development Studies with a specialisaiton in Power and Conflict and a minor in Cities and Mobilities with a keen interest in humanitarian work, gender, education, feminist politics and South-Asian politics.

NGOs in Conflict Zones: Politics vs. Development!

by Mohammad Almishlawi

The work of NGOs in conflict zones always brings many questions about the interrelationship between the humanitarian and the political. While humanitarian aid is a very crucial part of the post-conflict peacebuilding processes, especially in poor regions, it also stimulates some doubts about the states’ role in the game. Through a case study of my hometown (Tripoli, Lebanon), I am trying to investigate the impact of local NGOs in supporting local communities influenced by the intercommunal violence since 2011. I then draw some conclusions about the role of political elites in kindling violence in poor neighborhoods for political gains, and thus the inevitability of political puzzles in the humanitarian field.

NGOs in Conflict Zones: Politics vs. Development! by Mohammad Almishlawi, student in Interdisciplinary Master
Obviously, the impact of those NGOs is really incredible, however, at the same time, we see that everyone is still in need of security and this is, of course, the first responsibility of the state.
Mohammad Almishlawi

The elephant in the room

by Alice Maréchal

While young generations are facing great challenges, a limited circle of billionaires is slowing our fight and progress in terms of social, environmental and economic justice.

Until a recent conversation with a friend, I had never looked closely at the work of private foundations and philanthropists. During this conversation, my friend specifically pointed out how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is actually feeding and consolidating a system that creates inequalities. Following this conversation, I decided to look for more information on the topic as it was both really convincing but also looked like a conspiracy theory.

My research led me to the work of Lionel Astruc and more precisely his book L’art de la fausse générosité (Actes Sud, 2019). In his investigation, the author unpacks some of the myths and secrets around the generosity of philanthropists and more specifically, Bill Gates. Drawing on the long history of philanthrocapitalism, the BMGF aims at reducing inequalities through a type of charity that adopts the ways of doing business in a capitalistic world. The absence of critical voices on this phenomenon allows the foundation to hide the origin of its money and how it is used in a way that greatly differs from the alleged philanthropy.

The foundation receives money from a trust controlled by Bill and Melinda Gates through which they invest their personal money into various multinational corporations. Yet, the couple invests in companies that contribute to poverty and socioeconomic injustices all over the world.

We can find among those companies Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Bayer-Monsanto or even Caterpillar, companies that are highly criticized for their human rights violations, labor abuses, harm to the environment and tax evasion. This complex financial package then allows Bill Gates to use his foundation to support initiatives from companies that are part of the investment fund portfolio.

The BMGF is the elephant in the room and talking about it is of public interest. I am not criticizing Bill Gates’ intentions because he may really want to do good, but when it comes to development, we need to make sure that strategies are aligned and built with people benefiting from programmes at the bottom. Thus, before telling us ‘How To Avoid a Climate Disaster’, Bill Gates may want to reflect on his own beliefs. Praising technology as the answer to pressing global challenges reinforces the idea that development is an apolitical process based on charity and giving solutions to the poor without any fundamental systematic changes.

In order to build a better world, I believe that we will need to make individual and collective radical actions tied up in a global consciousness that acknowledges: what affects me affects humanity. In other words, if citizens’ engagement is limited to a change in individual behaviour, we won’t be able to face the critical challenges that await us. The work of billionaires and private foundations needs to be monitored, more transparent and subjected to accountability mechanisms as they are increasingly shaping global policies.

Finally, young generations need to be aware of the influence of these foundations and adopt a critical view of their work as it is a matter of justice and fairness.

I believe that we will need to make individual and collective radical actions tied up in a global consciousness that acknowledges: what affects me affects humanity.
Alice Maréchal

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE "The Trial of the Chicago 7" 

by Apoorva Sekhar

In her review of Aaron Sorkins’ 2020 film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Apoorva Sekhar shows us the importance of questioning how the past continues to manifest in the present. Acknowledging how some lives remain structurally more valuable than others, this film makes us bear uncomfortable witness to the violence of racial injustice that remains as entrenched today as it was in the 1960s.

TheTrialoftheChicago7
Apoorva Sekhar

A film review of the movie "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

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It makes us think about the current world where we live in- where dissent is equated with treason in numerous countries.
Apoorva Sekhar

The Role of Power and Privilege: Framing Exclusivity and Invisibility

by Nicolle Mae Renion and Sinan Kirisci 

This second podcast episode dwells on what constitutes power, and the subtle ability of privilege to open, propel and sustain the activation of opportunities of people, institutions, states and international organisations. In the process, this expression of privilege can translate to invisibility, exclusion and inequality. This then calls for reasonable honesty, deeper understanding, active dialogue, and a collaborative approach to bring about the change we hope to make.

References:

Download the full podcast transcript

We listen deeply and explain with clarity.
Nicolle Mae Renion
Invisibility is a protective shield that gives you immunity.
Sinan Kirisci

SPECIAL ISSUE 1

ON ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

Camille

Camille François is a Master Candidate in Development studies, with a specialization in Environment, Resources and Sustainability. She is interested in cultural and natural heritage, social projects, human rights, and ethics.

Samantha

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Samantha Elaine Groulx is a MA Development Studies candidate at IHEID, with a passionate focus on Ethics and Global Health. 

Maria

María José Mancera studied history in Mexico City and is currently a Master’s candidate in Development Studies, specializing in Mobilities, Spaces and Cities. She is a fervent pedestrian and a keen apprentice of plants.

Meghan

Meghan Mendelin is a Master candidate in Development Studies, with a specialization in Power, Conflict & Development. Her current research focuses on the relationship between democracy and oil dependence in the Global North. 

HOW TO DO GOOD?

by Camille François

"How to do good?" is a vastly complex issue. No definite answer has ever been nor will ever be found, because the definition of goodness varies between time, places, and individuals. However, despite the lack of an absolute answer, we can ask ourselves multiple questions to guide our thinking—these questions are necessary when working in the development sector in particular, as practitioners are often faced with dilemmas: who to help? why help them? how? The following video shortly introduces ethical theories and addresses the challenges of doing good in the development sector.

Doing Good...and doing it well! by Camille François, student in Interdisciplinary Master
How can we do good if we don’t enjoy the goodness all around us?
Camille François

My vision for how I would like to engage in the world

by Maria José Mancera Portilla

I suddenly find myself where it all started. San Cristóbal de las Casas, the picturesque city of red tile roofs and crispy blue skies surrounded by green mountains upholstered with pines and oaks. I was eighteen when I first came here dreaming of my new life as a “do-gooder”, a fantasy that shattered as soon as I arrived at my new home. The volunteers’ house where I would dwell for the next four months was a mess. Nobody was expecting me there, and since there was no doorbell I had to wait quite long, uncertain about whether I had arrived at the right address, and hoping I had, despite the eerie promise of the apparently empty building. Things didn’t run smoother after that door opened, and the question “what am I doing here?” lurked unforgiving. In hindsight, I see it as a coming of age story. 

Exactly nine years after that disastrous arrival I began studying at the Graduate Institute. 

Circumstances have changed. This is no longer a gap year and the perspective that drove me to San Cristóbal in 2011－a vague fantasy about a missionary heaven－ is long gone. What brought me here was a global pandemic that complicated my departure to Geneva and the desire to live in a more pleasant environment to study online than hectic Mexico City. 

Growing up has made me more hesitant about the answer to the question of how to engage in the world. More precisely, the question about how to engage in the world has become indispensable. Once the premises that underpinned the notion of “doing the right thing” emerged, I learned that good intentions are never enough: it is possible to do harm while remaining oblivious of it. As a shield against that risk, I now inquire about the images that shape my desire to engage in the world: in what terms do I want to come together with the world?

...

George Orwell has accompanied me since I graduated from school. 

I became particularly fascinated by his life, and the way in which experience permeates his writing. Orwell is not simply an onlooker “critical of reality”, he is immersed in reality, directly interpellated and transformed by it. Throughout his short life (he died at 46), Orwell found himself in disquieting positions, which he courageously sought to look deeper into by getting exposed to extreme situations, about which he then wrote. Why would someone want to do that? Certainly not for pleasure. This is why I find the Greek notion of destiny, rather than the modern concept of responsibility, more pertinent to interpret Orwell’s uncomfortable existence. 

With so much cruelty, destruction and violence, it is not hard to feel uneasy about reality. So even though I cannot give a precise answer to how I want to engage in the world, I can at least say why I want to engage in the world: I simply cannot accept things as they are. As Simon Blackburn notes, a Greek concept helps to understand the drive behind this rather bleak position: eudaemonia, or true happiness, which “requires some correct relationship with our world” that “cannot be gained by stoking up sensations within”1. So it seems the fool’s paradise is by destiny out of reach, so I better start addressing that which moves me.

Here I am standing in San Cristóbal de las Casas nine year after the disastrous arrival. This nine year distance is palpable in many ways, but after all I’m standing on the same (uncomfortable) ground.

1. Blackburn (2000) Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 73

I simply cannot accept things as they are
Maria José Mancera Portilla

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE "POVERTY INC." 

by Meghan Mendelin

The 2014 critically acclaimed film Poverty Inc., directed by Michael Matheson Miller, examines the fundamental flaws of the development industry’s common practices, and its role in perpetuating impoverished conditions in the Global South.

In her analysis, Meghan Mendelin praises the film’s critical examination of the international aid system, and its ability to accessibly relay the complex topic of paternalistic development practices. While the reviewer applauds Poverty, Inc.’s ability to make viewers reflect on their own role in perpetuating harmful conceptions of what ‘doing good’ means, she critiques the film’s proposed alternative approach to poverty reduction. 

PovertyIncIcon
Meghan Mendelin

A film review of the movie "Poverty Inc."

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Avoiding the Road to Burnout 

by Samantha Elaine Groulx 

With global complex emergencies and humanitarian crises rising, relief workers are increasingly and continually exposed to trauma. Being witness to horrible things changes you. When an individual loses their sense of purpose and motivation, it can quickly lead to burn out. Many developmental workers begin their career enthusiastic, optimistic, patient and endlessly curious. What has to be done so they don’t end up hopeless, bitter, impatient and cynical? 

Download the full podcast transcript

I entered development work with so much enthusiasm, but came crashing with the realization that development issues are more complicated than I imagined
Nicolle Mae Renion