There has been an explosion of academic interest in humanitarianism in recent years. Salvatici’s monograph adds to this dynamic field of research that has lately seen the proliferation of detailed thematic and case-study analyses of individual organisations, aspects of the humanitarian endeavour and humanitarian crises. The variety of these contributions have gradually begun to fill in the gaps in our understanding of western humanitarianism as a form of political engagement with the Global South. Salvatici’s monograph, which traces the evolution of humanitarian sentiment and organised practice in the modern era, is best read as an expertly retold overview of the field’s latest innovations. The political scientist Michael Barnett’s Empire of Humanity set the agenda in 2011 with its sweeping narrative of humanitarianism as a product of the economic, political and sentimental characteristics of its time, from the nineteenth century up to the present day. While Salvatici’s interest in a longue-durée perspective similarly lies with the ability of history to explain the present, it is the acute attention to detail and awareness of contradictory narratives that elevates her account. The sense that the past is being allowed to speak for itself comes through with the choice to begin each chapter with a quote from a primary source, thus foregrounding the voices of the actors concerned before delving into meta-narrative. Overall, Salvatici offers a succinct yet wide-ranging history of international aid in all its forms that compliments Corinna Unger’s 2018 monograph on International Development.

中文翻译：

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西尔维娅·萨尔瓦蒂奇（ Silvia Salvatici），《人道主义历史》，1755–1989年：以他人的名义

近年来，对人道主义的学术兴趣激增。萨尔瓦蒂奇（Salvatici）的专着增加了这个动态的研究领域，最近又看到了对单个组织，人道主义努力和人道主义危机的详细主题和案例研究分析的泛滥。这些各种各样的贡献已逐渐填补了我们对西方人道主义作为与全球南方的政治接触形式的理解的空白。萨尔瓦蒂奇（Salvatici）的专着追溯了近代人道主义情绪和有组织的实践的演变，最好将其作为该领域最新创新的专家转述概述来阅读。政治科学家迈克尔·巴内特（Michael Barnett）的《人类帝国》2011年的议程以其对人道主义的全面叙述作为19世纪到今天那个时代的经济，政治和情感特征的产物。萨尔瓦蒂奇对贵族学历的兴趣类似地在于历史解释当前的能力，而正是对细节的关注和对矛盾叙事的关注使她的论述得到了提升。过去被允许自己说话的感觉是通过选择从主要来源引述每一章开始的，从而在探究元叙事之前就凸显了相关演员的声音。总体而言，萨尔瓦蒂奇（Salvatici）提供了各种形式的国际援助简明而广泛的历史，这与科琳娜·昂格（Corinna Unger）2018年的专着有关国际发展。