Since the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, debates about the localisation of humanitarian aid have intensified. Dominant discourse focuses on reform, although calls for the broader decolonisation of aid are mounting. This paper examines the impact of neoliberal-inspired competition that incentivises institutional expansion and clashes with localisation. It introduces the concept of the ‘conflict paradox’ to illustrate how armed conflict and restricted humanitarian access for international actors can both empower and disempower local and national humanitarian actors (LNHAs). These themes are then demonstrated using case studies of Myanmar, Somalia, and Somaliland, revealing the potential for LNHAs to demand humanitarian system change, as well as the challenges to doing so. The paper concludes that for localisation to progress towards decolonisation, fundamental ideological shifts away from the neoliberal competitive mindset are essential. Notably, there is a need to move from low-quality localisation (subcontracting) to high-quality localisation grounded in solidarity and an emancipatory agenda.

中文翻译：

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“冲突悖论”：缅甸、索马里和索马里兰的人道主义援助准入、本地化和（剥夺）权力

自2016年世界人道主义峰会以来，关于人道主义援助本土化的争论愈演愈烈。尽管要求援助更广泛地非殖民化的呼声日益高涨，但主流话语仍聚焦于改革。本文探讨了新自由主义激发的竞争的影响，这种竞争刺激了制度扩张并与地方化发生冲突。它引入了“冲突悖论”的概念，以说明武装冲突和国际行动者的人道主义准入受到限制如何既赋予地方和国家人道主义行动者（LNHA）权力，又削弱其权力。然后通过缅甸、索马里和索马里兰的案例研究来论证这些主题，揭示 LNHA 要求人道主义系统变革的潜力，以及这样做的挑战。本文的结论是，要使本土化向非殖民化迈进，从新自由主义竞争思维中根本性的意识形态转变至关重要。值得注意的是，需要从低质量本地化（分包）转向基于团结和解放议程的高质量本地化。