Actorness and effectiveness in international disaster relief: The European Union and United States in comparative perspective
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| Author | Erik Brattberg,Mark Rhinard |
| DOI | 10.1177/0047117813497298 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Relations
27(3) 356 –374
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0047117813497298
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Actorness and effectiveness
in international disaster relief:
The European Union and
United States in comparative
perspective
Erik Brattberg
Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Mark Rhinard
Stockholm University and Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract
This article examines the role of the European Union (EU) and United States as actors in
international disaster relief. We take the analysis of ‘actorness’ one step further than normal by
assessing the extent to which different aspects of EU and US actorness led to effectiveness in
actual outcomes. In doing so, we make two contributions. First, we provide a rare comparison
between EU and US foreign policy actorness, shedding light on the actor capability of each bloc
in the area of international disaster relief. Second, we specify the relationship between actorness
and effectiveness, a relationship which is too often assumed rather than explored. Using previous
research of EU and US actorness as a starting point, we link four aspects of actorness to
effectiveness and assess the resulting hypotheses using the case of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
We find support for our proposed links between actorness and effectiveness, although further
research is needed before robust conclusions can be drawn.
Keywords
actorness, cooperation, disaster response, effectiveness, European Union, foreign policy,
humanitarian assistance, United States
Corresponding author:
Mark Rhinard, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Email: mark.rhinard@ekohist.su.se
497298IRE27310.1177/0047117813497298International RelationsBrattberg and Rhinard
2013
Article
Brattberg and Rhinard 357
Introduction
International disaster response is a high-profile focus for many states around the world
and a major component of foreign policy in both the European Union (EU) and United
States.1 Indeed, as two powerful economic and foreign policy actors with public support
for humanitarian relief and two-thirds of the world’s humanitarian assistance resources,
the EU and United States play leading roles in what might be called an international
disaster relief regime.2 Participants in that regime meet regularly in institutionalised fora
such as the United Nations, are guided by (mainly informal) rules regarding interaction
and are called upon to act in disaster situations.3 At the same time, both the EU and
United States have been the target of criticism regarding their roles in international disas-
ter relief. During recent emergencies, the EU, although increasingly speaking and spend-
ing as a ‘single voice’ in humanitarian crises, has been seen as slow and incoherent in its
overall approach to disasters. The United States, although typically quicker to deploy
help internationally, has been criticised for poor internal coordination and inadequate
civil–military cooperation.4
The ambitions of the EU and United States to play a leading role in international dis-
aster relief, combined with apparent obstacles to such efforts, demand further investiga-
tion into each polity’s ‘actorness’ and effectiveness. This article uses the concept of
actorness to unpack the empirical features most relevant to determining the extent to
which either side has ‘the capacity to behave actively and deliberately’ in international
affairs.5 The actorness concept was first developed in an EU context, but can be applied
elsewhere and is constituted by variables that, in principle, are ‘abstract from any par-
ticular institutional form’.6 Thus, as the EU continues to evolve as a foreign policy entity,
a comparison with the United States can offer useful insights regarding the capacities
required to participate actively and deliberately in international disaster response.
We carry the analytical framework one step further. The ‘actorness’ concept has tradi-
tionally been a heuristic device, offering a useful characterisation of a polity’s potential
to impact international affairs. Divorced from the concept is the link with effectiveness
in shaping outcomes. In lieu of theorising this link, analysts typically equate ‘more actor-
ness’ with ‘more effectiveness’, rather than stipulating how actorness may lead to differ-
ent kinds of effectiveness (which can then be empirically verified). This article seeks to
link actorness more meaningfully to effectiveness using insights from the literature on
international cooperation and from studies on international disaster relief.7 We derive
preliminary hypotheses regarding how different actorness variables may relate to effec-
tiveness in influencing international relief outcomes. Since actorness is expected to have
real-life impact, we examine the January 2010 Haiti earthquake in an empirical analysis
of EU and US capacities to behave actively and deliberately – as well as effectively – in
international disaster relief. The Haiti earthquake provides an intriguing case since the
EU and United States each declared a role for itself and public expectations rose
accordingly.8
The article proceeds in the following steps. In the section ‘Actorness in international
disaster relief’, we briefly review debates on actorness and outline previous research on
EU and US efforts to act in international disaster relief. In section ‘Does actorness lead
to effectiveness? Some hypotheses’, we link actorness to effectiveness by drawing upon
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