“The importance of humanitarian studies and conflict research will continue to grow”
Prof. Dr. Dennis Dijkzeul, Professor in the Management of Humanitarian Crises at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum
“In crisis and disaster regions I’ve learned a great deal from local people, from their experiences and their will to survive. I like helping other people and in humanitarian assistance there’s a lot you can do to make things better. My time in New York – when I was very close to the political pulse – and my contacts and work there also taught me much that’s stood me in good stead at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict in Bochum. Like working in an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented way, for example. Particularly in the field of humanitarian studies it’s important to observe close-up how different actors interact, that’s what most of the really interesting research is concerned with. The theoretical work in Germany is outstanding and there’s very good teaching on how to establish a theory. What interests me is how to relate theory to practice and develop this potential. The challenges of the future are climate change, environmental degradation, war and migration. The demands on governments, aid organizations and helpers are increasing. That’s why the importance of humanitarian studies, of organization and conflict research, will continue to grow.”
Professor Dennis Dijkzeul, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
(Jan Greune)
Professor Dennis Dijkzeul answers three questions
You like students on your Master’s degree courses to get first-hand experience of the situation in crisis regions. Why is this so important?
Practitioners working in crisis regions frequently know more than researchers sitting at their desks. To do good research we must understand the needs of those directly affected by the crisis. That means students and researchers must see the situation in crisis regions for themselves. For 99% of our students, spending time in crisis regions
– Africa, Afghanistan or Bosnia, for example – is something they want to do anyway. They usually spend between six weeks and four months in the field. We can provide them with the necessary contacts with aid agencies. But many of them were actively involved in humanitarian assistance before starting their studies in Bochum and already have good contacts with aid agencies.
How do researchers deal with the distress and concern they feel in the face of violence or a terrible natural disaster?
I love my work at the university and in my office. It helps me maintain my distance from the sometimes horrific conditions in crisis regions. But you can’t work in this area without these feelings of concern. It’s part of the job. Up to a point it’s a good thing to be moved when you see people suffering. Researchers aren’t machines. Sometimes, though, a certain psychological and spatial distance prevents me being overwhelmed by such feelings.
Why did you decide to continue your research in Germany?
After establishing the humanitarian affairs programme at Columbia University in New York I could have continued working there of course, but the idea of building something new very much appealed to me. And I found excellent conditions for doing that here at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. We are very closely networked through the NOHA association and the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus programme as well as my work at Columbia University. In February 2009, for example, I was able to organize from Bochum the World Conference in Humanitarian Studies, together with two Dutch colleagues, and also to keep up my contacts with Congo.
Last updated 01.09.2009