EU humanitarian aid: The case of Africa

Humanitarian aid operations that are conducted by actors such as governments, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations have attempted to be used as a foreign policy instrument by governments and international organizations within the framework of soft power activities. EU is the largest humanitarian aid donor in the world today. This study is conducted with the aim of analyzing the contribution of the humanitarian aid operations of the EU to the improvement of the perception of the EU's global power. In this study, EU's humanitarian aid operations towards Africa are analyzed in parallel with the operations of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) that is the responsible institution for conducting these operations. The main argument of the study is that the humanitarian aid operations of the EU are used not only for decreasing and relieving human suffering, but also as a foreign policy instrument in line with EU's normative power. How EU foreign policy is enhanced via its humanitarian aid operations is also discussed in the study with respect to soft power dynamics. Qualitative social science research methods are used in the study. Annual reports of the EU's humanitarian aid operations are also used in this study. Besides, annual reports of the NGOs and UN organizations, which EU collaborated in the humanitarian aid operations, are used as alternative sources of this study. In line with these reports, both regional and international impacts of EU's humanitarian aid operations towards Africa are analyzed. In this context, it is elaborated that the humanitarian aid operations contribute to EU's global actorness and also enhance Union's foreign policy outcomes. Another significant matter that is argued in the study is the safety of humanitarian aid workers. According to the data obtained, it is seen that the attacks on the humanitarian aid workers have gradually increased recently and it is concluded that these attacks hinder the effectiveness of humanitarian aid operations. In the study, the humanitarian aid system of the EU and its humanitarian aid operations towards Africa are analyzed through the constructivist approach. In addition to this approach, the relationships between the member states and ECHO, their partnerships with other NGOs, and the possible problems that may arise during the humanitarian aid operations are discussed through the liberal institutionalist approach.