Coping with the Great Irish Famine: the agency of Skibbereen Norbert Götz Irish Historical Studies, 2026 Skibbereen has become a byword for famine, frequently appearing in academic literature on humanitarian disasters — but almost always as a symbol of Irish victimhood. By contrast, this article seeks to demonstrate that the town of Skibbereen was a centre of agency and innovation with far-reaching impact throughout Ireland and beyond. It examines the hands-on efforts of local people to take charge of a dire situation, highlighting three key aspects inadequately considered by previous research. First, a Skibbereen deputation to London played a crucial role in establishing the British Relief Association, the major voluntary aid effort at the time. Secondly, a soup house founded in Skibbereen became the model for the most effective governmental relief effort in Ireland. Thirdly, Skibbereen was the home of an elaborate emigration scheme to rescue starving individuals that was launched early and sustained for a long time. This article reveals a significant disparity between the widely accepted image of Skibbereen as a place of passive suffering and the lesser-known agency and innovation of its people. Ultimately, this case study not only sheds light on the recipient perspectives and complexities of humanitarian aid, but also serves as a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of local Irish leaders.
Humanitarian action: A moral economic periodization of famine relief Norbert Götz, Georgina Brewis, Steffen Werther Politics of Famine in European History and Memory, 2025 The history of humanitarian efforts in times of famine and other emergencies has become a vibrant field of academic study, but there have been few attempts to delineate chronological patterns. This chapter seeks to contribute to a discussion by emphasizing societal factors (including culture, media structures, and economics) to a greater extent than research has hitherto. It illustrates its argument with three cases of famine relief in different periods, geographical locations, and political circumstances: the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, the famine in Soviet Russia in 1921–1923, and the famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s. Through these examples, this research takes a fresh look at humanitarian appeals, the allocation of relief, and aid accounts through the concept of moral economy. This chapter identifies three distinct phases of humanitarian action, which are termed ad-hoc humanitarianism, organized humanitarianism, and expressive humanitarianism.
History: The moral economy perspective Norbert Götz, Emilia Palonen Research Handbook on Populism, 2024 Context, variety and genealogy are among the contributions historical studies generally make to populism research. This chapter argues that there is another, as yet almost untapped, resource in historical approaches, namely a theory of moral economy that, when stripped of normative presumptions and idiographic limitations, can improve our understanding of populist moments and movements in the past - as well as in the present. This chapter fathoms what historical perspectives have on offer for populism research, enhancing knowledge into social, cultural, economic and political circumstances with the benefit of hindsight. It illustrates this by providing a chronological overview of key populist movements over the past two centuries. It does so from a moral economy perspective that correlates populism with notions of social justice, as well as with a perceived lack of acknowledgement and violation of entitlements.
Universalism in Emergency Aid before and after 1970: Ambivalences and Contradictions Nationalism and Internationalism Intertwined A European History of Concepts Beyond Nation States, 2022
Palme, Sven Olof Joachim (1927-1986) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Erlander, Tage (1901-1985) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Finlandization Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Paasikivi, Juho (1870-1956) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Scandinavia Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Lie, Trygve (1896-1968) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Kekkonen, Urho (1900-1986) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
Hammarskjold, Dag (1905-1961) Cold War the Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection Volume 1 5, 2020
