Shame and Assistance - Does It Help?

Abstract

Funding for assistance in areas of violent conflict is variable, and access for aid organisations is sometimes limited. Faced with financial and logistical constraints, donors and NGOs appeal to their moral perspective to justify their approach; is this strategic, and what does it achieve? Drawing on research into the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the work of NGOs in southern Sudan, this article argues that the language employed – whilst apparently intended to be persuasive – can be counterproductive: it can create an unwarranted sense of moral ease on the part of aid staff, and it can provoke uncooperative behaviour in the people towards whom it is directed.