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Night on Earth is a broad-ranging account of international humanitarian programs in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Near East from 1918 to 1930. Davide Rodogno shows that international 'relief' and 'development' were intertwined long before the birth of the United Nations with humanitarians operating in a region devastated by war and famine and in which state sovereignty was deficient. Influenced by colonial motivations and ideologies these humanitarians attempted to reshape entire communities and nations through reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes. The book draws on the activities of a wide range of secular and religious organisations and philanthropic foundations in the US and Europe including the American Relief Administration, the American Red Cross, the Quakers, Save the Children, the Near East Relief, the American Women's Hospitals, the League of Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Summary

The introduction argues that postwar international humanitarianism encompasses continuities and profound changes with respect to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Western humanitarianism. In the Near East and more broadly speaking in the Balkans and ex-Ottoman lands, international humanitarianism was arrogant, provincial, and Promethean. Western humanitarianism was redemptive and built upon colonial and civilizational postures. The book claims that the First World War was a foundational moment for postwar humanitarianism, but the latter, at least in the Near East, connected with missionaries and protodevelopment projects.

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Night on Earth

Introduction

Summary

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Night on Earth

Introduction

Summary