This study brings a new perspective to the subject of building local capacities in emergency and post-emergency situations. The book critically examines the dilemma of the management of relief programmes in case studies from Mozambique, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Haiti and Guatemala.

Patronage or Partnership brings a new perspective to the subject of building local capacities in emergency and post-emergency situations. Many relief programs remain characterized by externality: in their funding, accountabilities, approach to management, and dependence upon expatriate staff. Strengthening local capacity is easier said than done, and there are real tradeoffs between outsiders doing something in the midst of an emergency, on the one hand, and building longer-term local skills, on the other. By critically examining the dilemma from local perspectives in case studies from Mozambique, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Haiti and Guatemala, this book finds real hope and possibilities amidst the prevalling rhetoric and confusion.

Capacity Building and the Humanitarian Enterprise - Ian Smillie Reconstructing Bosnia, Constructing Civil Society: Disjuncture and Dilemma - Ian Smillie and Goran Todorovic' Alternative Food Aid Strategies and Local Capacity Building in Haiti - Kathy Mangones Rebuilding Local Capacities in Mozambique: The National Health System and Civil Society - Stephen Lubkemann Means Without End: Emergency Humanitarian Assistance in Sri Lanka - Arjuna Parakrama Women's Organizations in Guatemalan Refugee and Returnee Populations - Mike Leffert Sierra Leone: Peacebuilding in Purgatory - Thomas Turay From Patrons to Partners? - Ian Smillie Abbreviations, Select Bibliography, About the contributors, Index