The ‘Phantom Local’ and the Everyday Distinction Practices of Humanitarian Actors in War: A Socio-Legal Perspective

Rebecca Sutton, The ‘Phantom Local’ and the Everyday Distinction Practices of Humanitarian Actors in War: A Socio-Legal Perspective, in Lisa Richey and Lilie Chouliaraki (Eds.), New Political Science, Special Issue: Everyday Humanitarianism: Ethics, Affects and Practices, Vol. 40, No.4, 2018, pp.

Edinburgh School of Law Research Paper Forthcoming

18 Pages Posted: 30 Nov 2019

See all articles by Rebecca Sutton

Rebecca Sutton

University of Glasgow School of Law

Date Written: September 13, 2018

Abstract

This article is concerned with the everyday practices of international humanitarian actors who deliver assistance in armed conflict zones. Drawing on original fieldwork conducted in South Sudan, it elucidates how humanitarian actors engage with the principle of distinction in international humanitarian law (IHL). The article considers how the desire to enforce distinction impacts humanitarian actors’ relationships with others, and introduces the concept of everyday distinction practices. These practices have an important performance component, designed to appease the “phantom local.” It is proposed that such practices may have adverse implications for the humanitarian– beneficiary encounter. By positioning war-affected populations as an audience for distinction, everyday distinction practices reconfigure the victims of war from being receivers of aid to perceivers of aid. By lumping beneficiaries together with armed actors as part of the “phantom local,” distinction practices also paint the victims of war as an object of mistrust, fear, and potential danger.

Keywords: Humanitarianism; perceptions; international humanitarian law; South Sudan; socio-legal studies

Suggested Citation

Sutton, Rebecca, The ‘Phantom Local’ and the Everyday Distinction Practices of Humanitarian Actors in War: A Socio-Legal Perspective (September 13, 2018). Rebecca Sutton, The ‘Phantom Local’ and the Everyday Distinction Practices of Humanitarian Actors in War: A Socio-Legal Perspective, in Lisa Richey and Lilie Chouliaraki (Eds.), New Political Science, Special Issue: Everyday Humanitarianism: Ethics, Affects and Practices, Vol. 40, No.4, 2018, pp., Edinburgh School of Law Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3415019 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3415019

Rebecca Sutton (Contact Author)

University of Glasgow School of Law ( email )

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