Based on more than a decade of research, this book explores the assumptions underpinning existing explanations of and responses to violence against aid workers. According to Fast, most explanations of attacks locate the causes externally and maintain an image of aid workers as an exceptionally category of civilians.

Introduction -- Three stories of aid in danger : from Baghdad and Muttur to Solferino -- The twin challenges for contemporary humanitarianism -- The dangers they face : understanding violence against aid workers and agencies -- The dominant explanations : competing discourses of aid -- Explanations in the shadows : competing images of aid -- Coping with danger : paradigms of humanitarian security management -- Conclusion. reclaiming humanity -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments.