The human security agenda and its impact on foreign aid donation to Sudan

Fifty-four years since independence, eleven years of peace, two civil wars, one complex humanitarian emergency, and no hope. This is the scenario in Sudan. Since 2003, the Darfur region is under attack by government-sponsored militias, leaving the local population feeling insecure. Can different perceptions of what it means to be secure impact the international community’s response to the long-standing crises in the country? This research addresses the broadening of the international security agenda with the concept of human security. It tests the argument that the adoption of the human security agenda positively impacts donors’ decisions in regards to their donations of foreign aid to Sudan. The Darfurian humanitarian crisis is shown to be a moment in which the formal human security discourse – most effectively adopted by middle powers – was merged into a concrete measurable action: donation of aid, which directly assists the local population affected by hostilities at several levels.