[Which relationships between civilian-military actions(CMA), civilian and military cooperation (CIMIC)and non-governmental organizations(NGO)?].
This article questions the existence of "governmental humanitarianism" in opposition to "non-governmental" humanitarianism. The authors report the growing implication of civilian and military actors representing governments in responding to crises and express their concern that this tendency could ultimately lead to use of humanitarian action for diplomatic and economic purposes. They stress that unlike non-governmental organizations, state-run humanitarian agencies are subject to political, economic, and geographic factors. In the context of increasingly frequent application of the CMA doctrine, the authors analyze the role of non-governmental organizations in the field during post-crisis reconstruction. They underline the growing problem of organizing bilateral and multilateral assistance operations. They restate the hope expressed by many humanitarian organizations for a return of the rule of law and conclude on the need to develop complementary activities in the field.