Du développement à l'humanitaire, ou le triomphe de la com'

This article analyses the way humanitarian international NGOs speak and communicate about development. It first examines how relief organisations specialised in emergencies eventually got involved in reconstruction and development after the end of the cold war. It then shows that humanitarian NGOs became major players in the media when it comes to third world countries. The problem is that their communication also aims at fundraising: the priority is to please the donor, not to analyse complex issues. Hence this article studies the political economy of humanitarian advocacy, with all its drawbacks, i.e. paternalism, bias, racial stereotypes, exaggeration of the crisis, idealism about the impact of international aid, etc.