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The terms nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have loosely been aligned with the humanitarian sector, but NGOs can be political, entrepreneurial, developmental, or humanitarian in their vision and are not limited to nonprofits. Approximately 40,000 NGOs have appeared on the humanitarian stage during the last 30 years. A plethora of humanitarian and other NGOs flooded the humanitarian field during the 1990s, challenging good practice and interagency collaboration and creating diplomatic challenges for governments of nations involved in giving aid, as well as the sovereignty of recipient nations. Groups not affiliated with established humanitarian organizations and societies scrambled to respond to disasters, often neglecting to gain invitation from the host nation. Hugo Slim, a leading international scholar of humanitarian studies, has criticized many of these as being motivated by “being there” rather than by “being successful.” As a consequence, questions have arisen within the sector concerning how to better address humanitarian responses to horrific events and how to avoid political affiliation while working harmoniously and respectfully with local and national representatives of governments of afflicted countries.

Government Influence and NGOs

In today's humanitarian world, an increasing association between NGOs and governments with politicized intent risks the trusted relationship that humanitarian aid organizations have built with those in need. The United States is reported to spend $1.4 billion annually on NGOs that promote democracy. When in office, former president of the United States George W. Bush, through an executive order, paved the way for millions of dollars of government funding to be distributed to religious aid organizations, risking the impartial role that humanitarians tend to uphold. In addition to the Western model of aid, there are other very politically powerful and influential alliances that contribute to humanitarian needs. These include the Muslim system and China's and Russia's partisanship, which have political and religious agendas.

Never was the need for rapid assessment, humanitarian coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of participation more evident than after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Approximately 500 NGOs began operating relief and recovery efforts in Indonesia's Aceh Province alone. As time went on, many Acehnese in Indonesia talked of the “second tsunami,” referring to the sudden invasion of the expatriate aid community, exacerbating vulnerability with their organization's money. Similarly, the growing strength and presence of NGOs, with their donor money, usurped the legitimacy of authority that should have been reserved for local government and community organizations. This invasion was even more distressing because Aceh had been isolated from the outside world for many years before the tsunami. Transparency in humanitarian principles and practices becomes the greatest challenge for the collaborators. Despite lessons learned from more recent disasters, NGOs and INGOs face many problems with the coordination and distribution of aid, political sensitivities, and afflicted nations' sovereignty.

The Military, Politics, and Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism, in its stance beside the disadvan-taged against the powerful has always been political in many ways. However, as humanitarianism becomes increasingly implicated and collaborative with governance structures, particularly Western politics, it risks alienating those it seeks to serve by being seen as impostors and insurgents of a newer form of imperialism and colonialism. Humanitarians are increasingly viewed as tools for politicizing, militarizing, indoctrinating, and pathologizing following catastrophic and adverse life events.

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