Building on the Capacities of Crisis-Affected Populations

Attempts to consolidate humanitarian actors into a humanitarian system are occurring alongside efforts to generate greater coherence between humanitarian action, development, and peace-building. Whether a strengthened humanitarian system can adhere to the humanitarian principles while engaging in post-conflict societal reconstruction is unclear. This article discusses the rationale for a shift in how humanitarian action is thought about, and it proceeds to examine how humanitarian action can retain its identity, principles, and goals while complementing reconstruction and societal transformation in protracted post-conflict contexts.