Not Breaking the Rules, Not Playing the Game

Why do humanitarian principles, human rights and other rules espoused by aid organisations apparently fail to influence the reality of assistance delivery, while reality does not influence these objectives? This book investigates the international assistance given to countries at war. Presenting evidence from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan, she finds that appealing to a morality based on rights and principles allows aid staff to justify their operational weaknesses by blaming or discrediting others.