The Least of All Possible Evils

1. Humanitarian Aid Can Perpetuate Suffering

"We were attracting people like bait in a trap. Local people knew they should never trust this violent, dictatorial government, but as aid workers were permanently dwelling in these so-called relief camps, [people] gained confidence and walked to them."

Aid as Unintentional Complicity. Humanitarian interventions can inadvertently support oppressive systems and contribute to population displacement. In Ethiopia, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) realized their presence was facilitating forced population transfers by creating a false sense of security for vulnerable populations.

Systemic Risks of Humanitarian Intervention:

• Aid can be manipulated by political regimes
• Humanitarian presence can create false sense of safety
• Relief efforts might unknowingly support oppressive policies
• Good intentions can produce harmful unintended consequences

Critical Self-Examination. Humanitarian organizations must constantly analyze their role and potential negative impacts, recognizing that their presence can be weaponized by political actors seeking to control populations.

2. The Lesser Evil is a Complex Political Strategy

"The lesser evil emerges here as a pragmatic compromise, a 'tolerated sin' that functions as the very justification for the notion of exception."

Ethical Calculation. The "lesser evil" principle involves carefully weighing potential harm and attempting to minimize destructive outcomes. This approach transforms ethical decision-making into a complex calculation of potential risks and consequences.

Key Dimensions of Lesser Evil Strategy:

• Involves choosing between imperfect alternatives
• Requires constant reassessment of potential outcomes
• Operates within predefined systemic constraints
• Seeks to minimize overall harm

Philosophical Complexity. The lesser evil is not a simple compromise but a nuanced political technique that reveals the intricate power dynamics within humanitarian and political interventions.

3. Testimony and Forensics Reshape Human Rights Investigations

"Forensics is the way objects appear and are debated in the forum, with the forum being the arena of interpretation where claims and counter-claims have to be made."

Shifting Investigative Paradigms. Contemporary human rights investigations are increasingly moving from human testimony to material evidence, using scientific methods to reconstruct violent events through physical remnants.

Forensic Investigation Characteristics:

• Emphasizes material evidence over subjective testimony
• Uses advanced technological analysis
• Seeks objective interpretation of historical events
• Transforms physical objects into narrative sources

Epistemological Transformation. This shift represents a fundamental change in how violence is understood, investigated, and documented, prioritizing scientific methodologies over traditional narrative approaches.

4. Proportionality Transforms Violence into a Calculable System

"Proportionality demands the establishment of a 'proper relation' between 'unavoidable means' and 'necessary ends'."

Quantifying Violence. International humanitarian law introduces proportionality as a mechanism to measure and potentially limit violence by establishing mathematical relationships between military actions and civilian casualties.

Proportionality Calculation Elements:

• Establishes thresholds for acceptable collateral damage
• Creates algorithmic approaches to military engagement
• Transforms ethical decisions into numerical calculations
• Attempts to rationalize inherently irrational violence

Technological Mediation. The principle of proportionality represents a technocratic approach to managing violence, introducing computational logic into inherently complex human conflicts.

5. Humanitarian Spaces Are Political Battlegrounds

"Humanitarian spaces are not territorial zones, but rather sets of operational categories, or space-bound circumstantial conditions, that make independent humanitarian work possible."

Contested Territories. Humanitarian spaces are not neutral zones but complex political environments where multiple actors negotiate power, access, and intervention strategies.

Humanitarian Space Characteristics:

• Constantly negotiated and redefined
• Subject to political and military influences
• Require continuous strategic maneuvering
• Serve as interfaces between different power structures

Dynamic Complexity. Humanitarian spaces are fluid environments that demand ongoing critical analysis and strategic adaptability from aid organizations.

6. Forensic Architecture Reveals Hidden Violence

"From the perspective of forensics, the ruin has an 'architecture' in which controversial events and political processes are reflected and from which they might be reconstructed and analysed."

Architectural Testimony. Physical structures and their destruction contain embedded narratives of violence, revealing complex political and military processes through their material transformation.

Forensic Architecture Principles:

• Treats buildings as historical documents
• Analyzes spatial configurations as evidence
• Transforms material remnants into narrative sources
• Provides alternative methods of historical investigation

Spatial Narrative. Buildings and ruins become active witnesses, offering insights into complex historical and political events through their physical characteristics.

7. International Law is Elastic and Manipulable

"International law can thus not be thought of as a static body of rules but rather an arena in which the law is shaped by an endless series of diffused border conflicts."

Legal Flexibility. International humanitarian law is not a fixed set of rules but a dynamic system continuously reshaped by military, political, and legal actors.

Legal Transformation Mechanisms:

• Constant negotiation of legal boundaries
• Strategic reinterpretation of existing frameworks
• Gradual normalization of previously unacceptable practices
• Active manipulation of legal thresholds

Power Dynamics. International law becomes a strategic tool for managing and potentially expanding acceptable forms of violence.

8. Refugee Camps Are Sites of Ongoing Destruction and Resistance

"The camp is not a home, it is a temporary arrangement, and its destruction is but the last iteration in an ongoing process of destruction."

Perpetual Displacement. Refugee camps represent more than temporary shelters; they are complex political spaces embodying ongoing processes of dispossession and resistance.

Refugee Camp Dynamics:

• Sites of continuous historical trauma
• Spaces of potential political transformation
• Manifestations of systemic displacement
• Repositories of collective memory

Resilient Identities. Refugee spaces maintain political potential despite continuous attempts to marginalize and control their populations.

9. Military Technologies Blur Lines Between Aid and Violence

"Humanitarian organizations have become increasingly dependent on militaries in order to gain access to civilians in unsecured areas."

Technological Convergence. Contemporary humanitarian practices increasingly rely on military technologies and methodologies, creating complex interdependencies between aid and violence.

Technological Intersection Points:

• Shared technological infrastructures
• Overlapping personnel between sectors
• Mutual strategic objectives
• Converging analytical methodologies

Ethical Complexity. The boundaries between humanitarian aid and military intervention become increasingly permeable and difficult to distinguish.

10. Ethical Practices Require Constant Self-Reflection

"The more politically limited the aims of the humanitarian mission, the better the chance for politics to emerge independently."

Critical Engagement. Ethical humanitarian practice demands continuous self-examination, acknowledging potential complicity and maintaining critical distance from power structures.

Ethical Practice Principles:

• Embrace uncertainty and complexity
• Maintain critical distance from existing power systems
• Prioritize minimal, non-invasive interventions
• Continuously reassess organizational methodologies

Transformative Potential. True humanitarian practice involves creating spaces for autonomous political action rather than attempting comprehensive management.

Last updated: April 24, 2025