This article explores how the humanitarian presence and programs in the disputed border area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan can be understood as a buffer between conflicting parties, rather than as mere assistance to a displaced population. It aims to contribute to debates about the spatial impact of humanitarian governance and the politicization of aid in protracted crisis contexts, and specifically in relation to territorial disputes and border struggles. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in South Sudan between 2011 and 2013. The article argues that the humanitarian response became part of the politics of belonging that lies at the heart of the dispute. The very acts of labelling, categorizing, and maintaining the subjects of aid are highly political, such as the creation of the category of the 'people of Abyei' in contrast to refugees or Internally Displaced People. As a result, the interventions have sustained governance over the territory and can be understood as a humanitarian buffer that may shape the border area of Abyei for many years to come.

中文翻译：

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人道主义作为缓冲：苏丹/南苏丹阿卜耶伊的流离失所、援助和归属政治

本文探讨了如何将苏丹和南苏丹之间有争议的阿卜耶伊边境地区的人道主义存在和计划理解为冲突各方之间的缓冲，而不仅仅是对流离失所人口的援助。它旨在促进关于人道主义治理的空间影响和长期危机背景下援助政治化的辩论，特别是与领土争端和边界斗争有关的辩论。它基于 2011 年至 2013 年间在南苏丹进行的民族志实地考察。文章认为，人道主义响应已成为争端核心的归属政治的一部分。对援助对象进行标签、分类和维护的行为本身就具有高度政治性，例如创建“阿卜耶伊人民”这一类别 与难民或国内流离失所者相反。因此，干预措施维持了对该领土的治理，可以理解为人道主义缓冲区，可能会在未来许多年塑造阿卜耶伊边境地区。