The Resilience Paradox: Horizons of Humanitarian Ethics in the Syrian Crisis

 "The Resilience Paradox: Horizons of Humanitarian Ethics in the Syrian Crisis" analyzes the shifting contours of humanitarian ethics at a critical juncture when the rates of global displacement have far surpassed the capacities of aid organizations to address them. This book project charts a profound transformation in the ethical foundation of humanitarianism amidst the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan and Lebanon. With over 1.5 million Syrians having fled to the two countries, local political exigencies and mounting resentment have compelled humanitarian actors to accept that traditional emergency relief is no longer sustainable. Since 2015, UN agencies have advocated for an integrated development and “resilience-based” approach to aid, known as the Resilience Agenda, which partners with asylum states to strengthen the ability of refugees and host communities “to cope with the adverse impacts of shocks and stresses." 

The clash of contradictory mandates—implementing aid programs designed to sustain refugees over the long term, while collaborating with governments anxious to deport refugees as soon as possible—precipitates an ethical quandary for humanitarianism that Firoz calls the “resilience paradox.”