1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910255323603321

Autore

Rubin Olivier

Titolo

Contemporary famine analysis / / by Olivier Rubin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2016

ISBN

3-319-27306-X

Edizione

[1st ed. 2016.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (105 p.)

Collana

SpringerBriefs in Political Science, , 2191-5466

Disciplina

381.4564130095492

Soggetti

Political science

Social structure

Equality

Development economics

Political Science

Social Structure, Social Inequality

Development Economics

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters.

Nota di contenuto

Preface -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Understanding Famine -- Chapter 3. Classical Famine Approaches -- Chapter 4. The Entitlement Approach -- Chapter 5. The Political System -- Chapter 6. The Political Accountability Approach.

Sommario/riassunto

This Brief provides some answers as to why famines continue to torment humankind here in the 21st century despite all our progress in food production, logistics, information dissemination and relief work. Contemporary famines are inherently political, and so the interesting question is not how famines can be prevented, but why they are allowed to develop in the first place; only by understanding the latter, is there hope to eradicate major famines. The Brief assesses the various analytical approaches to the understanding of famine, from the classical approaches inspired by Thomas Malthus to the newer economic approaches based on Amartya Sen. While all approaches contribute with important insights on famine dynamics, they also struggle to capture the political dimension of contemporary famines. The Brief develops a political approach capable of addressing this



important but messy political dimension of contemporary famines. The approach builds on principles of humanitarian accountability (the moral responsibility to alleviate suffering from famine) as well as political accountability (the interests and power relations involved in famine outcomes). .