From 3-5 November 2021, scholars and practitioners from all over the world came together virtually and in person for the 6th World Conference of the International Humanitarian Studies Association (IHSA) hosted by Sciences Po in Paris. Many of the IFHV’s researchers took the opportunity to present and discuss their research together with international experts. Apart from presenting their research, Dr. Carolin Funke and Prof. Dennis Dijkzeul organized a panel on the conference devoted to inclusion of disadvantaged groups in humanitarian action, which opened with a presentation from the IFHV’s Maximilian Bertamini on the rights of disadvantaged groups to inclusion and prtection in times of emergency. Over the course of the conference, Dr. Eva Johais presented her work on the politics of humanitarian design on the panel “Taking Ideology out of Humanitarianism” and Dr. Kristina Roepstorff, together with Dr. Kristofer Lidén, presented a new project on the ethics of humanitarian negotiations on the panel “Negotiating with Authoritarian Regimes”. On that same panel, Maximilian Bertamini closed the rounds of presentations with insights from his work on the vocabulary of negotiations in the Security Council. Representing the NOHA Master’s Programm in International Humanitarian Action, Will Wright answered the questions of many interested students between the panels.

All in all, the conference was a great success for its participants and the IFHV in general, as it provided valuable contacts and sparked ideas for many exciting follow-up projects to come in the future. Keep an eye out for events and publications all around inclusion in and the localization and politics of humanitarian action in the near future!