Calculating Compassion: Humanitarianism: Key Debates and New Approaches

Following intrepid individuals as they dispensed blankets and Bovril, first aid and pyjamas in the Franco-Prussian and Russo-Turkish wars of the 1870s, as well as British wars of empire in the Sudan and South Africa, Calculating compassion considers relief workers' enduring practices and habits-of-mind, and some of the unintended consequences of their efforts. Rather than simply responding to news of distant suffering, those delivering aid were instrumental in the stimulation of public concern - and here relief workers contributed to a politics of humanity which had lasting influence on the history of domestic and foreign politics in Britain. New bonds of solidarity were proclaimed but not all, it seemed, were equal in the brotherhood of humanity, whether at home or abroad. This book is intended for students, academics and relief professionals interested in placing relief work into its political and social context.