Humanitarianism and Human Rights: A World of Differences?

Tuesday, April 20, 2021
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EDT
via Zoom

Humanitarianism and Human Rights: A World of Differences? (Cambridge University Press) explores the fluctuating relationship between human rights and humanitarianism. Leading scholars probe the shifting meanings of human rights and humanitarianism across ethics, obligations, duties, history, and modern-day practice.

The GW Elliott School of International Affairs Book Launch Series was proud to present a discussion of the book led by its editor, Michael Barnett, and co-sponsored by the Humanitarian Action Initiative and the Institute for International Economic Policy.

 

About the Host

Picture of Alyssa AyresThe roundtable discussion will be introduced by Alyssa Ayres, the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Before joining the Elliott School, she was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia under the Obama administration. She holds a Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.

 

About the Moderator

Picture of Maryam DeloffreMaryam Z. Deloffre is an Associate Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University and the current Director of the Humanitarian Action Initiative at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Throughout her career, she has explored the nature of global order and how it is organized. Her investigations into the governance and coordination of global humanitarian and health assistance focuses on collective accountability standard-setting, and the coordination of emergency response. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the George Washington University.

 

About the Panelists

Picture of Michael BarnettMichael Barnett (editor) is a University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the recipient of various fellowships, grants, and research awards for his work, including from the United States Institute for Peace, Smith Richardson Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He has taught and written extensively in the areas of global governance, international organizations, humanitarianism, and Middle Eastern politics. Among his many books are Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism; Sacred Aid (co-edited with Janice Stein); Power and Global Governance (co-edited with Raymond Duvall); and Humanitarianism in Question (co-edited with Thomas Weiss). He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.

Picture of Ilana FeldmanIlana Feldman is the Vice Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs at the George Washington University. Her research has focused on the Palestinian experience, both inside and outside of historic Palestine, examining practices of government, humanitarianism, policing, displacement, and citizenship. She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology and History from the University of Michigan.

 

 

Picture of Miriam TicktinMiriam Ticktin is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at The New School for Social Research. She has written on immigration, humanitarianism and border walls in France and the US, and how bodies and biologies are shaped by gender and race. She received her Ph.D in Anthropology from Stanford University and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris, and an M.A. in English Literature as a Rhodes Scholar.

 

 

 

 

The LEAP Initiative with Jorge Dajani, Chief Ethics Officer, World Bank

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

12:00pm – 1:00pm EST

The event will be held virtually via Zoom Webinar with a Moderated Q&A.
 

Jorge Dajani is the Chief Ethics Officer of the World Bank Group. He will describe the organization and activities of the ethics function of the World Bank Group, and explain, more generally, the specificities of ethics functions in international public organizations. He will emphasize the importance of creating a value-based culture. He will conclude with examples of challenging questions that an ethics function needs to address and discuss these with the students.

Jorge Dajani’s Bio: 

Jorge Dajani became the Chief Ethics Officer of the World Bank Group on June 15, 2018.

Dajani brings to this role a deep knowledge of multilateral development banks, a proven track record in corporate strategy and development, and a reputation for effective stakeholder engagement.  He has been widely recognized for his management skills and stewardship of policies and procedures within international financial institutions with a focus on strategy, ethics and governance. 

Prior to this position, Mr. Dajani was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, a position he held since 2016. Previously, he served as Director General for Macroeconomic Analysis and International Finance at the Ministry of Economy of Spain. He has served on the Boards of Governors and Boards of Directors of several multilateral banks, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, and the African Development Bank. He was Spain’s chief negotiator for the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Green Climate Fund.  He has also been a member of the economic policy committees of the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

As Chief Ethics Officer, Mr. Dajani directs the Ethics and Business Conduct Department, which promotes the development and application of the highest ethical standards by staff members in the performance of their duties. He provides overall strategic leadership on ethics and business conduct, ensuring that ethics and the Bank Group’s values are fully incorporated into the strategy of the entire World Bank Group. He reports directly to the President of the World Bank Group.

Mr. Dajani, a Spanish national, has a Bachelor´s and a Master´s degree in Economics from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Mandarin.

This event is co-sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs, and is a part of the Leadership, Ethics, and Practice (LEAP) Initiative.

 

“Intervention without Empire: The Ethics of Foreign Influence in a Neo-Colonial World” with Dr. Lucia Rafanelli

Monday, February 3, 2020
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Lindner Family Commons 602
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW

In a world filled with state-sanctioned oppression, many look to the international community to help secure justice when states fail or refuse to do so. But attempts by actors in one society to “promote justice” in another evoke the specter of colonialism. Indeed, even after formal decolonization, global politics bears potent markers of its imperial past. Current geopolitical power structures, embodied in both formal institutions and informal behavioral patterns, continue to empower people in the global West and North and disempower people in the global South, and what some refer to as the “Third World.” This raises the question: is there any way international actors can promote (their ideas of) justice around the world without reinforcing and perpetuating the objectionable power hierarchies associated with colonialism?

 

Dr. Rafanelli will argue there are ways for international actors to do so, but to meet this challenge, they must adhere to certain moral principles.

 

SPEAKER BIO

Dr. Lucia Rafanelli’s work has been published in Political Studies (2019) and The Journal of Political Philosophy (2017). Her book project, Promoting Justice Across Borders: Political Theory for the New Global Politics, develops ethical standards for what she calls “reform intervention” – an expansive category encompassing any deliberate attempt to promote justice in another society. Her primary research interests include contemporary political theory, global justice, and theories of human rights. She also has philosophical interests in collective agency and collective personhood, philosophy of law, and the ethics of artificial intelligence. She received her Ph.D. in Politics (with a specialization in Political Theory) from Princeton University in 2018.

She is an Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Affairs at the George Washington University and is a former affiliate of the Princeton Dialogues on AI and Ethics program and a current affiliate of the Institute for International Economic Policy at the George Washington University.

Read more about her here.

Should Leaders Focus on Poverty or Inequality? Ethical and Policy Perspectives

The Leadership, Ethics, and Practice Initiative and the Institute for International Economic Policy Presents:

 
Should Leaders Focus on Poverty or Inequality?
Ethical and Policy Perspectives 
 

Monday, February 25, 2019

5:00pm to 6:00pm

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
 
Join us for an evening discussion on the topic:
“Should Leaders Focus on Poverty or Inequality? : Ethical and Policy Perspectives”
 with Dr. Douglas Hicks Professor of Religion and Dean of Oxford College at the Emory University.

This event is on the record and open to media.