Aid or Business? The Transformation of Humanitarian Work in the Refugee Camp in Slavonski Brod (Translation)

Sa？etak This paper will present the starting points for the interpretation of the transformation of humanitarian work, along with providing examples indicative of its professionalisation and the close relationship it has developed with the domain of political activity. Originally conceived as a philanthropic project and based around the imperative of saving lives and/or reducing suffering, humanitarianism has formalised the concept of providing aid in the past few decades and has begun to manifest aspects typical of corporate and business culture. The practice of professionalisation and the relationship between the two terms seemingly presenting contradictory attitudes towards humanitarian work – seeing it as either aid or business – are problematised on the basis of the ethnography of work and an analysis of the interviews conducted with humanitarian workers from the refugee camp in Slavonski Brod