Henry Dunant

After noticing the suffering of thousands of wounded soldiers at the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Henry Dunant decided to write 'A Memory of Solferino'. Its publication proved conclusive in founding the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this influential book, Dunanat brilliantly described the battle, the sufferings, and the aid organization.

Henri Dunant (1828 – 1910) was a Swiss businessman who happened to witness the horrors of the 1859 Battle of Solferino between France, Sardinia, and Austria. Three years later he published Un Souvenir de Solferino at his own expense and presented it to leading figures in Europe. The next year, due to his efforts, the Red Cross was founded.

"Timely and significant." Church Times A pioneer of humanitarianism and founder of the International Red Cross, Henry Dunant was many things over his lifetime. A devout Christian and social activist, an ambitious but failed businessman, a humanitarian genius, and a bankrupt recluse. In this biography, Corinne Chaponnière reveals the tumultuous trajectory of Henry's life. From his idyllic childhood in Geneva, she follows Henry through the horrors of the Battle of Solferino, his creation of the Red Cross and role in the Geneva Conventions, the disgrace of his bankruptcy and his resurrection as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. It shows how this champion of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war was not an unblemished picture of piety and goodness, but that his empathy and good works played out in tandem with his social ambition and personal drive. It shows how even the best of us fall on hard times, and that the Red Cross was born out of humanitarian ideals coupled with a desire for personal success. This book reveals the story of Henry Dunant, blemishes and all, against the backdrop of the horrors of war, the weight of religion and the birth of humanitarianism in the 19th century.

Chronicles the history of the Red Cross, from its nineteenth-century humanitarian origins to the complex moral dilemmas it has faced in the twentieth-century

The main aim of this book is to inquire into the system of norms regulating the 'internationalization' of internal conflicts. The traditional distinction between international & internal conflict, which entails different legal consequences, is in practice very difficult to detect due to the presence, in many instances, of elements typical of both situations. Through a careful & extraordinarily useful examination of all relevant cases of 'internationalized' internal conflict since 1956, the validity of the traditional framework of rules concerning foreign intervention in internal conflict is reassessed. At the same time, the applicability to these situations of the rules typical of international conflicts are analyzed with a view to providing the existence of a continuum between the two situations, not only as a matter of fact but also with respect to their legal regulation.

From Rwanda to Afghanistan, from Sudan to Iraq, this devastating expose shows how the humanitarian aid industry, the media and warmongers are locked in a cycle of mutual dependency on battlefields around the world. 'Polman shines a light on the multibillion dollar juggernaut that is today's humanitarian aid network. A disturbing account that raises profound questions' Financial Times 'One of the finest reporting journalists of the modern age - Polman is gutsy, intellectually penetrating and far from naive' Evening Standard 'Cool, brusque, fearless. A marvellous account' Guardian

From Lake Chad to Iraq, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) provide relief around the globe, and their scope is growing every year. Policy makers and activists often assume that humanitarian aid is best provided by these organizations, which are generally seen as impartial and neutral. In Above the Fray, Shai M. Dromi investigates why the international community overwhelmingly trusts humanitarian NGOs by looking at the historical development of their culture. With a particular focus on the Red Cross, Dromi reveals that NGOs arose because of the efforts of orthodox Calvinists, demonstrating for the first time the origins of the unusual moral culture that has supported NGOs for the past 150 years. Drawing on archival research, Dromi traces the genesis of the Red Cross to a Calvinist movement working in mid-nineteenth-century Geneva. He shows how global humanitarian policies emerged from the Red Cross founding members’ faith that an international volunteer program not beholden to the state was the only ethical way to provide relief to victims of armed conflict. By illustrating how Calvinism shaped the humanitarian field, Dromi argues for the key role belief systems play in establishing social fields and institutions. Ultimately, Dromi shows the immeasurable social good that NGOs have achieved, but also points to their limitations and suggests that alternative models of humanitarian relief need to be considered.