Network governance - Social responsibility of enterprises - Social economy
In the countries of West Africa, the field of humanitarian action articulates numerous networks of collective action that mobilize many organizations representing very different sectors of intervention (health, education, food security, childhood…). Humanitarian organizations articulate networks of multiple actors who could facilitate the emergence of new governance modalities. These actors come from the public sphere, the private sector and civil society, and are to be found at all decision-making levels.
Given their cross-sectoral nature, these networks of humanitarian players represent complex spaces whose operations are fed by a whole universe of potentially contradictory, even divergent practices. This disparity of practices is a real organizational challenge that researchers, political decision-makers and international cooperation professionals need to better understand in order to improve the quality of humanitarian interventions. Adopting a collaborative, partnership-based approach between France and Senegal, this research examines the strategic dynamics and normative mechanisms structuring interventions in the complex field of humanitarian action.
The aim is to understand how, as humanitarian action changes, new forms of governance emerge in a complex context of social and organizational transition. The results of the research show us three emerging themes that could constitute conceptual pillars for the new Humanitarian Action: the network configuration of the governance of humanitarian interventions, the prominence of civil society in humanitarian issues, and the social responsibility of humanitarian companies and organizations.