An anthology of first person stories by international aid workers covering natural disaster, war and peace. The African countries dealt with include Sudan, Chad, Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola. Illustrated by b/w photographs. Foreword by John Le Carre. 256pp, UK. EARTHSCAN, 1844070344

Reissue. Examines the move of the major humanitarian organisations from being independent and neutral to their awkward position as lobbyists. The author argues that this shift has allowed them to be hijacked by the major powers and to be used for their own purposes. His pessimistic argument shows how the people in gravest danger, from Sarajevo to Rwanda to Afghanistan, are now the final consideration in humanitarian projects. Index, Notes, 367pp, UK. VINTAGE UK, 0099597918

The authors critique humanitarian action as an industry, pointing to the influence of political and national security interests, as well as market forces on assistance given to vulnerable communities. They call for a re evaluation of how humanitarian action is decided and developed, making some alternative suggestions. Case studies on Sierra Leone, East Timor and Afghanistan. Other African cases given some focus include Sudan and the 2002 drought in Southern Africa. Appendix covers 2002 statistics on donor responses to crises in Angola, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tajikistan, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. Index, notes, bib, app, b/w cartoon illus, tables, maps, abbrev, ix, 276pp, USA. KUMARIAN PRESS.

Searching critique of the global aid industry. Explores the paradoxes of humanitarian action through essays on Rwandan refugees in the Congo, Afghans in Pakistan, Cambodians in Thailand and Nicaraguans in Honduras. 282pp. appendices, USA. CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS, 080148796X

Since the early 1990s, refugee crises in the Balkans, Central Africa, the Middle East, and West Africa have led to the international spread of civil war. In Central Africa alone, more than three million people have died in wars fuelled, at least in part, by internationally supported refugee populations. The recurring pattern of violent refugee crises prompts the following questions: Under what conditions do refugee crises lead to the spread of civil war across borders? How can refugee relief organizations respond when militants use humanitarian assistance as a tool of war? What government actions can prevent or reduce conflict? Index, bib, notes, 204pp, USA. CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Tracing the evolution of UN peacekeeping, exploring its historical background and focuses on the changing nature of UN peacekeeping with particular reference to Africa, a continent that has been instrumental in shaping theory and practice. The concept of co-deployment between the UN and regional/sub-regional organizations is constantly evolving and is studied in detail. Case studies of co-deployment include as Britain's IMAT, France's RECAMP and America's ACRI. BNS, 192pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS.

A critical examination of Western humanitarian intervention in Africa. The author look at the reasons why intervention yields few workable results and the people involved remain vulnerable. Index, refs, notes, diags, 203pp, UK. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE, 9171065024

Executive Outcomes is the model on which all Private military companies (PMCs) operating in Iraq and Afghanistan are based. Founded by Eeben Barlow in the early 1990s, it originally offered courses in intelligence to South Africa's special forces and security work to De Beers' diamond mining industry. This was greatly expanded in 1993 when an oil company offered EO a contract to provide security for its staff while they recovered valuable drilling equipment stranded at the Angolan oil port of Soyo, after its capture by UNITA rebels. Barlow recruited ex-members of South Africa's elite military units for the job. EO was contracted for a month, but this ended up being extended and EO spearheading an Angolan Army assault on Soyo and its capture from UNITA. This highly successful operation led to a contract to retrain the Angolan Army. Both UNITA and MPLA had taken part in UN supervised elections in 1992, but UNITA had rejected the results after losing and it had returned to civil war. Index, 552pp, SOUTH AFRICA. GALAGO BOOKS.

Detailed, expert guidance for humanitarian agencies on how to prepare for and respond to various sorts of disasters drawing on experience from many key agencies. Provides essential information on equipment, medical protocols, decontamination procedures, training, and resource organizations. BNS, 208pp, UK. ITDG PUBLISHING, 1853396028

This dictionary traces the development of multinational peacekeeping since the formation of the League of Nations and reviews peacekeeping operations mandated by a wide range of international organisations and state coalitions. Includes detailed entries on peacekeeping operations since 1920. BNS, 384pp, USA. SCARECROW, 0810848740

Written with both the new humanitarian worker and the experienced veteran in mind, the book deals in turn with the main stages of a humanitarian assignment. It starts with issues to consider before you set out, then deals with safety and security in the field, staying healthy, managing stress, coping with the trauma of others, and dealing with returning home at the end of an assignment. An extensive appendix. Index, bib, 170pp, UK. ITDG PUBLISHING.

A study of the history of humanitarian activity and its growth since World War Two, tracing the creation of a global humanitarian system to the present day when humanitarian groups can be as influential and modern nation states in international political conflicts. The author brings in modern events such as September 11th, 2001, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. Index, notes, 308pp, UK. PALGRAVE/MACMILLAN, 0312232969

A selection of papers which debate the value of humanitarian intervention with and without UN authority in a post September 11th climate. Index, bib, notes, 350pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 052152928X

International experts and members of Medecins Sans Frontieres analyse issues such as the politics of expendable lives, the politically motivated diversion of food aid, and the involvement of humanitarian organisations in just wars initiated by Western powers against oppressive regimes or armed groups. The authors look at the way that these issues have crystallised over the last five years spanning the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first. Index, maps, xi, 372pp, UK. HURST. 1850657378

Since 'Turbulent Peace' was first published in 2001, the international landscape has changed profoundly. This collection replaces its well-established predecessor as the definitive volume on the sources of contemporary conflict and the array of possible responses to it. The authors more than forty of the most influential and innovative analysts of international affairs present multiple perspectives on how best to prevent, manage, or resolve conflicts around the world. Selected contents: The Challenge of Weak, Failing and Collapsed States - Robert Rotberg; State Making, State Breaking, and State Failure - Mohammed Ayoob; Expanding Global Military Capacity to Save Lives with Force - Michael O'Hanlon; International Mediation - William Zartman and Saadia Touval. 800pp, USA. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE PRESS.

Why do humanitarian principles, human rights and other 'rules' espoused by aid organisations apparently fail to influence the reality of assistance delivery, while reality does not influence these objectives? Using evidence from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan, this book argues that appealing to a morality based on rights and principles allows aid staff to justify their operational weaknesses by blaming or discrediting others. The terminology used labels political and military activity as illegitimate, pre-empting dialogue, limiting aid organisations' perception of the contexts in which they work, and ultimately questioning the sincerity behind the assistance. Concludes that people in countries at war are not 'breaking the rules' of assistance - as assistance is not meaningfully 'ruled' by rights or principles - they are more fundamentally 'not playing the game'. Index, bib, notes, 251pp, UK. HURST.

Apart from anecdotal reportage, little is known about the impact of peacekeeping missions on local inhabitants. Most studies of post-conflict societies focus on political elites, the demobilisa-tion of armed groups and uestions of state reconstruction. This study focuses on the ordinary daily lives and their interaction with UN mission staff. African examples included are: Somalia, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. Index, bib, 295pp, UK. HURST.

In this volume, a multinational team of scientists catalogue the stressors and benefits for combating trained soldiers deployed on missions where they are told to hold their fire and assume the role of peacekeeper. Missions covered include Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Lebanon. BNS, 344pp, USA. PRAEGER, 0275975967

The author brings over 20 years' experience as an Oxfam emergency programmes co-ordinator to a far-reaching and unflinching account of the conflicts between subjective impulses and objective judgement. Describing and analysing some of the most traumatic crises situations of the last two decades, he helps us to understand what it takes to be an aid worker and how important humanitarian action is today. Notes, index, 230pp, UK. EARTHSCAN, 1853838799

In this new century, a rising proportion of the worlds societal wars are ending not in victory for one side but in stalemate and negotiated peace, outside military intervention, or both, as events in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, East Timor, and Sierra Leone have borne witness. This volume, the third in a sequence on peacekeeping and post-conflict security edited by William J. Durch, addresses these questions through focused, structured case studies of operations in these four countries, as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kosovo. Index, bib, 650pp, USA. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE PRESS.

An interrelated study using empirical analysis and case studies to consider the complexities and dynamics associated with the application of military force in local conflicts and international politics. The authors look at Africa and the Balkans in particular. BNS, 162pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS.

A region by region description of UN military intervention in Africa from the 1960s until the new operations of the 21st century. Examines the theoretical bases of UN peackeeping and post-independence politics. Index, bib, app, xiii, 308pp, UK. PEARSON EDUCATION, 058238253X

Using a broad range of cases, the author explains how armed forces, aid agencies, and transitional administrations in war affected countries have adapted to the changing circumstances of modern war and conflict. Index, bib, notes, graph, 222pp, USA. KUMARIAN PRESS.

Having visited the UN missions to Somalia, Haiti and Rwanda, the author was exposes the horrifying ineptitude of the governments which run the UN and its tendency to side with the authorities against the people it is meant to protect. xx, 234pp, UK.PENGUIN, 0141012900

2003 Paperback

Institute for Security Studies monograph number 121. Notes, 58pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.