Dr Jean S Renouf | London School of Economics and Political Science (original) (raw)
In addition to teaching (and loving it!) several social sciences topics, I am currently working on a research that aims to understand the personal adaptation and mitigation strategies of those who are on the frontline of climate change, i.e. climate scientists and climate change stakeholders.
Both as an academic and as a field practitioner, my research and my career have been at the conjunction of three interrelated issues: international relations, aid work and non-traditional security. In particular, my research has deciphered the different security risks faced by international aid agencies in conflict zones, analysed the values and processes that underpin their approach to security, and provided actionable recommendations for them to continue their operations as safely as possible.
. Non-traditional security including climate change and energy security
. Development and humanitarian aid
. Peace and conflict studies
. Natural disasters and emergency management
. Strategic aspects of international relations, including competition for power, leadership and methods of warfare
Conflict, peace, security, aid, development, climate change, sustainability and chocolate are my buzzwords.
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Papers by Dr Jean S Renouf
As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments,... more As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments, international humanitarian agencies have increasingly adopted remote management arrangements as a way to continue assisting civilian populations while removing portions of their staff from harm’s way. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Center on International Cooperation for the Australian Government, provides a focused examination of the practice of remote management in humanitarian assistance; its benefits, deficits, and risks; and ways it could be improved. In particular, it draws on case-based field research in Afghanistan in November and December 2009 and provides case comparisons from other insecure aid contexts to identify common patterns and lessons in practice.
Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même c... more Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même constat : l’accès humanitaire en République Centrafricaine reste problématique. Ils ont cependant des perceptions différentes sur les défis de l’accès humanitaire.
Humanitarian donors should encourage a dialogue with their humanitarian partners on how funds cou... more Humanitarian donors should encourage a dialogue with their humanitarian partners on how funds could be channelled in a way that would help overcome access obstacles, whether of a logistic or security related nature.
... He is now the Security Coordinator for an important and respected NGO in Afghanistan ... and ... more ... He is now the Security Coordinator for an important and respected NGO in Afghanistan ... and Human Rights and of the many international treaties on human rights; their journal highlights their ... eventually lead Henry Dunant to push for the creation of the International Committee for ...
Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2022
After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between ... more After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between 1954 and 1970, over 16,000 of them immigrated to Australia. This paper is part of a larger research project that provides an in-depth inquiry of the lived experiences of 18 post-World War II emigrants from Czechoslovakia, who are now Australian citizens. Findings reveal emigrants’ significant emotional reflections about their life in Czechoslovakia and provide vivid phenomenological accounts of their views about their original country’s political and economic context and life within it, as well as challenges related to leaving the country and their lived experiences as displaced persons in foreign countries and Displaced Persons camps.
The use of private security providers and services in
Climatic Change, 2021
While numerous challenges associated with climate change exist, it remains difficult to fully com... more While numerous challenges associated with climate change exist, it remains difficult to fully comprehend its full implications on one’s life. Explanations for this range from psychological and cognitive barriers to social, political and economic impediments. This article provides the findings of a research project which investigated the lived experience of climate scientists and climate change experts to understand how they make sense of climate change. The research is based on qualitative interviews with 16 participants located in 12 different countries. The research finds that participants made sense of climate change through a diversity of ways, both professional and personal, including personal experience, emotions, exchanges with others and broader societal context. While for most, climate change started as an area of professional interest, it seems to have permeated their personal lives to a great extent. They see it as a disruption of the normal way of life and all concur abo...
The starting point of the paper is the observation, on the one hand, of the deterioration – in re... more The starting point of the paper is the observation, on the one hand, of the deterioration – in relative and absolute terms – of humanitarian actors’ security operating in complex environments, and, on the other hand, of the increasing presence of private security actors in the same contexts. In addition, whether humanitarian organisations are targeted or being victims of “collateral damages”, the paper highlights their increasing dilemma of having to choose between staying in extremely dangerous contexts at their own risk or giving up and leaving behind populations in need. The paper then raises the question of whether the use of private security can contribute to bring solutions – or not – to this dilemma. Both empirical and conceptual approaches are used to answer this question. As a first step, the paper identifies the various actors – humanitarians and security providers –, and analyses their respective risk management strategies. As a second step, the paper studies how the prin...
Climatic Change, 2021
The original article has been corrected. Unfortunately, several corrections to the references wer... more The original article has been corrected. Unfortunately, several corrections to the references were not carried. The original article now contains the full and correct reference section. Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Australian Council of Deans of Education, 2017
This report presents a stocktake and review of Category 1 grants1 in educational research in Aus... more This report presents a stocktake and review of Category 1 grants1
in educational research in Australia from 2009-2017. The focus of the review centred on the Field of Research (FoR) codes, which are most successful in terms of securing Category 1 grants in educational research, the amount of funding provided, common themes and gaps and the extent of transdisciplinary and collaborative research in education.
Aid agencies, local stakeholders and local communities all agree that humanitarian access in the ... more Aid agencies, local stakeholders and local communities all agree that humanitarian access in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains problematic. However, perceptions differ on the main challenges in this regard.
Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même c... more Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même constat : l’accès humanitaire en République Centrafricaine reste problématique. Ils ont cependant des perceptions différentes sur les défis de l’accès humanitaire.
As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments,... more As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments, international humanitarian agencies have increasingly adopted remote management arrangements as a way to continue assisting civilian populations while removing portions of their staff from harm’s way. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Center on International Cooperation for the Australian Government, provides a focused examination of the practice of remote management in humanitarian assistance; its benefits, deficits, and risks; and ways it could be improved. In particular, it draws on case-based field research in Afghanistan in November and December 2009 and provides case comparisons from other insecure aid contexts to identify common patterns and lessons in practice.
As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments,... more As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments, international humanitarian agencies have increasingly adopted remote management arrangements as a way to continue assisting civilian populations while removing portions of their staff from harm’s way. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Center on International Cooperation for the Australian Government, provides a focused examination of the practice of remote management in humanitarian assistance; its benefits, deficits, and risks; and ways it could be improved. In particular, it draws on case-based field research in Afghanistan in November and December 2009 and provides case comparisons from other insecure aid contexts to identify common patterns and lessons in practice.
Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même c... more Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même constat : l’accès humanitaire en République Centrafricaine reste problématique. Ils ont cependant des perceptions différentes sur les défis de l’accès humanitaire.
Humanitarian donors should encourage a dialogue with their humanitarian partners on how funds cou... more Humanitarian donors should encourage a dialogue with their humanitarian partners on how funds could be channelled in a way that would help overcome access obstacles, whether of a logistic or security related nature.
... He is now the Security Coordinator for an important and respected NGO in Afghanistan ... and ... more ... He is now the Security Coordinator for an important and respected NGO in Afghanistan ... and Human Rights and of the many international treaties on human rights; their journal highlights their ... eventually lead Henry Dunant to push for the creation of the International Committee for ...
Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2022
After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between ... more After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between 1954 and 1970, over 16,000 of them immigrated to Australia. This paper is part of a larger research project that provides an in-depth inquiry of the lived experiences of 18 post-World War II emigrants from Czechoslovakia, who are now Australian citizens. Findings reveal emigrants’ significant emotional reflections about their life in Czechoslovakia and provide vivid phenomenological accounts of their views about their original country’s political and economic context and life within it, as well as challenges related to leaving the country and their lived experiences as displaced persons in foreign countries and Displaced Persons camps.
The use of private security providers and services in
Climatic Change, 2021
While numerous challenges associated with climate change exist, it remains difficult to fully com... more While numerous challenges associated with climate change exist, it remains difficult to fully comprehend its full implications on one’s life. Explanations for this range from psychological and cognitive barriers to social, political and economic impediments. This article provides the findings of a research project which investigated the lived experience of climate scientists and climate change experts to understand how they make sense of climate change. The research is based on qualitative interviews with 16 participants located in 12 different countries. The research finds that participants made sense of climate change through a diversity of ways, both professional and personal, including personal experience, emotions, exchanges with others and broader societal context. While for most, climate change started as an area of professional interest, it seems to have permeated their personal lives to a great extent. They see it as a disruption of the normal way of life and all concur abo...
The starting point of the paper is the observation, on the one hand, of the deterioration – in re... more The starting point of the paper is the observation, on the one hand, of the deterioration – in relative and absolute terms – of humanitarian actors’ security operating in complex environments, and, on the other hand, of the increasing presence of private security actors in the same contexts. In addition, whether humanitarian organisations are targeted or being victims of “collateral damages”, the paper highlights their increasing dilemma of having to choose between staying in extremely dangerous contexts at their own risk or giving up and leaving behind populations in need. The paper then raises the question of whether the use of private security can contribute to bring solutions – or not – to this dilemma. Both empirical and conceptual approaches are used to answer this question. As a first step, the paper identifies the various actors – humanitarians and security providers –, and analyses their respective risk management strategies. As a second step, the paper studies how the prin...
Climatic Change, 2021
The original article has been corrected. Unfortunately, several corrections to the references wer... more The original article has been corrected. Unfortunately, several corrections to the references were not carried. The original article now contains the full and correct reference section. Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Australian Council of Deans of Education, 2017
This report presents a stocktake and review of Category 1 grants1 in educational research in Aus... more This report presents a stocktake and review of Category 1 grants1
in educational research in Australia from 2009-2017. The focus of the review centred on the Field of Research (FoR) codes, which are most successful in terms of securing Category 1 grants in educational research, the amount of funding provided, common themes and gaps and the extent of transdisciplinary and collaborative research in education.
Aid agencies, local stakeholders and local communities all agree that humanitarian access in the ... more Aid agencies, local stakeholders and local communities all agree that humanitarian access in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains problematic. However, perceptions differ on the main challenges in this regard.
Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même c... more Les agences humanitaires, les acteurs dans le pays et les communautés locales partagent le même constat : l’accès humanitaire en République Centrafricaine reste problématique. Ils ont cependant des perceptions différentes sur les défis de l’accès humanitaire.
As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments,... more As attacks against aid workers continue to rise in some of the world’s most violent environments, international humanitarian agencies have increasingly adopted remote management arrangements as a way to continue assisting civilian populations while removing portions of their staff from harm’s way. This report, prepared in collaboration with the Center on International Cooperation for the Australian Government, provides a focused examination of the practice of remote management in humanitarian assistance; its benefits, deficits, and risks; and ways it could be improved. In particular, it draws on case-based field research in Afghanistan in November and December 2009 and provides case comparisons from other insecure aid contexts to identify common patterns and lessons in practice.
The objective of the thesis is to study, through a critical constructivist analysis, the concepti... more The objective of the thesis is to study, through a critical constructivist analysis, the conception and practice of security by humanitarian international aid agencies (IAAs), with particular reference to their relation with private military and security companies (PMSCs).
The research provides a qualitative analysis of humanitarian security, which is defined as the practice of safely accessing vulnerable populations for humanitarian purposes. Its methodology relies on semi-structured interviews, including in Afghanistan and Haiti; participant observation; and a literature review. The thesis‘ critical constructivist approach implies studying the co-constitution of aid organizations‘ identity and interests. It argues that IAAs‘ identity and approaches to security are mutually shaped. It does so by first highlighting dominant discourses framing aid agencies‘ identity and processes by which particular views are reproduced. It then identifies the dominant representations in security management and reveals how they relate to IAAs‘ identity.
The thesis defines three ideal–types of IAAs (Deontological, Solidarist and Utilitarian) and of PMSCs (Guarding, Unarmed, and Weaponised). This typology allows a dissecting of IAAs‘ different conceptions and practices of security, and the conditions under which each type of IAA employs PMSCs. The research reveals that an aid agency‘s identity forms the basis of its approach to security. Identity and security, are however, not stable but dynamic and in a constant process of interaction with each other. The thesis then offers a study of these dynamic processes, with a focus on agents.
The thesis delves into the implications of the research for the concept of security and reveals how humanitarian security embodies IAAs‘ distinctive baggage. It suggests that IAAs require a more comprehensive understanding of how their identity and practices affect their security. The thesis‘ original contribution is two-fold: it represents the first critical constructivist study of humanitarian security practices and is the first research to study humanitarian organizations as referent objects of security.