Humanizing warfare [Ressource électronique] : the politics of medicine, health care, and international humanitarian intervention in Algeria, 1954-62 / Jennifer Johnson Onyedum

Ph. D. : Histoire : Princeton University : 2010

Bibliogr. p. 231-242

The Algerian war for independence was one of the longest and most gruesome colonial wars ever waged and one that would prove notorious for is systematic use of torture and scale of violence. The international context in which the struggle for national liberation was ultimately won remains central to any narrative of the conflict. However, this project aims to distance itself from the pervasive Cold War framework and focus on trends that transcend the logic of superpower politics. The globalization of the nation-state idea after World War I and the subsequent proliferation of nations after decolonization altered the face of diplomatic relations. But although "new nations" emerged and expanded the number of sovereign states, the "nation" was no longer the sole actor in the international arena. This project places colonial integration initiatives, and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations at its center and proposes an approach that permits a more nuanced appreciation of complex issues that dominated the period such as the politicization of medicine, the changing nature of war, internationalism, and human rights. The dissertation argues that both the French and Algerians participated in a "medical war" that operated at the local and international level. Medicine and health care were used as tools of war and conquest to subdue Algerian nationalist sentiment and restrict Algerian rebel mobility. The French were not the only ones to try and win the hearts and minds of the population with medical care. In response to the French offensive, the Algerians created their own medical services that were intended to provide critical care for their soldiers and the larger population. They also formed the Algerian Red Crescent (CRA) and through this organization, successfully solicited international aid from around the world. The Algerians worked closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and were able to put the Algerian conflict at the center of the international institution's agenda. However, numerous exchanges between the CRA, the French government, and the ICRC revealed the limitations of postwar humanitarian doctrines and principles and the numerous political and practices challenges international organizations faced during decolonization. The Algerian case is one example that serves to illustrate the complexities and contradictions between humanitarianism and decolonization and the centrality of medicine and health care in establishing moral, social, and political authority at the end of empire.