IRRC No. 869
The ethos-practice gap: perceptions of humanitarianism in Iraq
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Abstract
This article summarizes a country study on Iraq, which focussed on what Iraqis and aid workers believe to be true about the way the humanitarian apparatus has functioned or malfunctioned in Iraq, and why. Its findings confirm both the strength of the humanitarian ethos in Iraq and the operational value of principled humanitarianism, but call attention to significant gaps at ground level between ethos and practice.