scholarly journals Towards a comprehensive security alliance: Evolving dynamics in the United States’ humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the Philippines

2021 ◽  
pp. 205789112110581
Author(s):  
Julius Cesar I. Trajano

The Philippines’ humanitarian norms and frameworks have evolved from focusing on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to more pro-active disaster preparedness, enhancing community resilience and empowered participation of local and grassroots actors. The US-Philippines security alliance has evolved in line with these developments and needs to be understood more holistically and not be limited to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief through sending foreign military assets in times of disasters. This article argues that the non-traditional aspect of the US-Philippines bilateral alliance is not intended to underplay the role of the US military, but highlights the importance of the private sector, humanitarian NGOs, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in deepening and broadening the security alliance.

Author(s):  
Charles Luke ◽  
Chris Bowers ◽  
Alex Willard

This chapter discusses the strategic value of landpower in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations. When disasters occur that are significant enough to derail/delay political agendas, the US government depends on landpower's unique capabilities to support the lead federal agency, the US Agency for International Development. The authors use three disaster relief operations case studies (the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia, and the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines) to illuminate the Army's core roles in HA/DR success. Lastly, the chapter discusses the secondary benefits of successful HA/DR operations like enhancing interoperability among joint, interagency, and multinational partners, assuring partners and allies, and reinforcing the strategic narrative of US power.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alcir Santos Neto

This study probes the limits and possibilities of US military efforts to facilitate the transition from warfighting to nation-building. Most comparative studies conceive the complexity of this transition along a spectrum from conflict to humanitarian assistance to post-conflict stabilization. While the last two stages have often been interpreted as a coordinated act of civil-military ‘nation-building’; the spectrum, in fact, represents an ideal type simplification. At one level, outcomes depend on the players involved, including: sovereign nations, national militaries, international and regional institutions, UN peacekeepers, private security contractors, and non-governmental humanitarian providers, among others. On the other hand, because the number, types, and causes of case outcomes are highly diverse and contingent upon many possible factors (among them for example: political, economic, military, organizational, humanitarian, cultural, and religious), institutions like the US military face serious difficulties both planning and coordinating post-conflict scenarios. Assuming this complex backdrop, the present study offers a qualitative analysis of two recent US government reports by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) on US military engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq. In both cases, the US government sought to ‘nation-build’ by facilitating post-war stabilization and humanitarian assistance, detailing its genuine efforts to record both processes. While results indicate some limited successes in both cases, they also indicate a familiar pattern of uneven performance failures consistent with other cases internationally. The analysis concludes with recommendations for further research that may better control the contingencies of post-conflict management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 616-629
Author(s):  
Victoria Reyes

In 1992, the US military withdrew from its bases in the Philippines. But they left behind environmental toxins that continue to pollute the land and people. Why was the US military able to leave without cleaning up this environmental damage? What can the environment tell us about the broader Philippine–US relationship? In this article I analyse a 2002 class action lawsuit against the United States regarding environmental damages caused by the US military. I argue that at the heart of these legal arguments are different understandings of time and history, what I call a contractual timescape versus a stewardship timescape.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. A89-A89
Author(s):  
J. F. L.

In the United States, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to fund project MotherCare, which is aimed at enhancing the services and educational programme that have a significant impact on maternal and neonatal health and nutrition. The work is being carried out by John Snow Incorporated in Washington DC and will include five projects in different countries to demonstrate the efficacy of various interventions, such as improvements in the nutrition of newborn babies, as well as the prevention and treatment of disorders known to be important to maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. The MotherCare project will also introduce research and training initiatives in a number of countries. For those interested in researching a practical approach to reducing maternal mortality, the Safe Motherhood Operational Research programme is offering funding for government and non-governmental organisations in developing countries.1


Author(s):  
Rickie Solinger

What is USAID’s family-planning program? The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent federal agency that provides economic, developmental, and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. USAID’s family-planning programs reside within...


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Carolyn Louise Carpenter

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). A quantitative analysis of USAID’s disaster relief funding for LAC from 2001- 2019 was conducted to determine trends and effectiveness of its contracting. The findings demonstrate that USAID provides billions in assistance to increase foreign trade, but project results are ambiguous. The United States views short-term assistance programs as investments for long-term growth in globalized economies. It is recommended that LAC for-profit and non-profit organizations follow a similar strategy and capitalize on the assured assistance of USAID. Keywords: Foreign aid; foreign policy; disaster relief; NGO; GO; contracting.


2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-51
Author(s):  
Anita Menghetti ◽  
Jeff Drumtra

The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) was created in 1964 to provide emergency nonfood humanitarian assistance in response to international crises and disasters, in order to save lives and alleviate human suffering and to reduce the economic impact of those disasters. The office operates under the overall mandate of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is to provide “economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.”1 OFDA coordinates relief efforts for the U.S. government, and funds relief efforts by UN humanitarian agencies, private nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other international organizations.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (S2) ◽  
pp. S25
Author(s):  
Rannveig Bremer Fjær ◽  
Knut Ole Sundnes

In frequent humanitarian emergencies during the last decades, military forces increasingly have been engaged through provision of equipment and humanitarian assistance, and through peace-support operations. The objective of this study was to evaluate how military resources could be used in disaster preparedness as well as in disaster management and relief.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gremil Alessandro Naz

<p>This paper examines the changes in Filipino immigrants’ perceptions about themselves and of Americans before and after coming to the United States. Filipinos have a general perception of themselves as an ethnic group. They also have perceptions about Americans whose media products regularly reach the Philippines. Eleven Filipinos who have permanently migrated to the US were interviewed about their perceptions of Filipinos and Americans. Before coming to the US, they saw themselves as hardworking, family-oriented, poor, shy, corrupt, proud, adaptable, fatalistic, humble, adventurous, persevering, gossipmonger, and happy. They described Americans as rich, arrogant, educated, workaholic, proud, powerful, spoiled, helpful, boastful, materialistic, individualistic, talented, domineering, friendly, accommodating, helpful, clean, and kind. Most of the respondents changed their perceptions of Filipinos and of Americans after coming to the US. They now view Filipinos as having acquired American values or “Americanized.” On the other hand, they stopped perceiving Americans as a homogenous group possessing the same values after they got into direct contact with them. The findings validate social perception and appraisal theory, and symbolic interaction theory.</p>


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