This article was originally published in French on Grotius, as part of a dossier on the contribution of research to humanitarian action. Unlike most think tanks and research institutes devoted to the study of humanitarian aid, the CRASH - born of Médecins Sans Frontières leaders' desire for a structure to support critical reflection on their own operations - is an integral part of a relief organization.

Deployment of chemical weapons in Syria has proven to be such a horrific event, it has mobilized the muscle and diplomacy of the most powerful international actors. What will it take to unleash this same determination to come to the aid of the youngest Syrians?

Fabrice Weissman, coordinateur et directeur d'études au Crash, a publié "L'éthique de l'action humanitaire" dans Ethique des relations internationales, 'premier et seul manuel d'éthique des relations internationales'.

Médecins Sans Frontières is today launching an educational website "Speaking Out" that provides unprecedented insight into its decisions during key humanitarian crises of the past 40 years.

From international NGOs to UN agencies, from donors to observers of humanitarianism, opinion is unanimous: in a context of the alleged ‘clash of civilisations', our ‘humanitarian space' is shrinking.

Rubrique copinage pour signaler un livre très beau, original et éminemment instructif sur le Darfour. Jérôme Tubiana est journaliste - photographe et chercheur. Il publie « Chroniques du Darfour », un livre illustré de ses propres photos dans lequel il retrace ses séjours au Darfour, et à l'est du Tchad depuis 2004.

La thèse du renouveau de la souveraineté des Etats connaît une mode incontestable au sein de discours généraux prompts à valider l'hypothèse d'une rétractation de l'espace de travail offert aux organisations humanitaires.

The Journal of Humanitarian Affairs is a new academic journal in open access, hosted jointly by The Humanitarian Affairs Team at Save the Children UK (HAT), the Centre de Réflexion sur l’Action et les Savoirs Humanitaires MSF (MSf-Crash) and the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester (HCRI). It aims at fuelling the debate around humanitarian policies and practices with rigour and political courage.