The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook
Abstract The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has undergone a considerable transformation in the recent decades: from being driven by a pre-dominantly Swiss body of employees, it has become an organization dominated by international staff that hail from all over the world. While the l...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2019-07-01
|
| Series: | Journal of International Humanitarian Action |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41018-019-0060-0 |
| _version_ | 1818317689793282048 |
|---|---|
| author | Claudia Franziska Brühwiler Patricia Egli Yvette Sánchez |
| author_facet | Claudia Franziska Brühwiler Patricia Egli Yvette Sánchez |
| author_sort | Claudia Franziska Brühwiler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has undergone a considerable transformation in the recent decades: from being driven by a pre-dominantly Swiss body of employees, it has become an organization dominated by international staff that hail from all over the world. While the leadership is still firmly in Swiss hands, the transformation has put into question to what extent the ICRC has been able to uphold its foundational values and its special relationship with Swiss culture. The strong ties with Swiss values such as neutrality, independence, consensus, reliability, work ethics, and participation used to be perceived as key factors for the organization’s continuity and success in delivering humanitarian aid in a politically more and more divided world. Indeed, from a historical perspective, the Swiss rootedness shaping the organizational culture and identity allowed the ICRC to be successful in its endeavors as a neutral humanitarian actor even in times of crises. This paper, through an analysis of interviews with ICRC staff members of different nationalities, seeks to explore to what extent Swiss values are perceived to still matter in the ICRC, its humanitarian work and how Swiss and non-Swiss staff members interpret these values. The research suggests that there are three distinct narratives, namely, an internationalist, a traditionalist, and a pragmatist. While the internationalist narrative perceives the ICRC’s internationalization as a positive development for the organization as a whole, the traditionalist is concerned about detrimental effects on the organizational culture as well as on the credibility of the humanitarian work in the field. The pragmatist narrative recognizes the benefits of strong Swiss values in the ICRC, yet highlights that current developments call for internationalization. The study extends our understanding of the importance of core organizational values and principles in a process of internationalization in order to stay a credible and successful humanitarian actor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:41:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1640b516b993420185d6802356d23e6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2364-3412 2364-3404 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:41:19Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of International Humanitarian Action |
| spelling | doaj.art-1640b516b993420185d6802356d23e6b2022-12-21T23:52:10ZengSpringerOpenJournal of International Humanitarian Action2364-34122364-34042019-07-014111710.1186/s41018-019-0060-0The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlookClaudia Franziska Brühwiler0Patricia Egli1Yvette Sánchez2School of Economics and Political Science (SEPS) and School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), University of St. GallenLaw School, University of St. GallenSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), University of St. GallenAbstract The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has undergone a considerable transformation in the recent decades: from being driven by a pre-dominantly Swiss body of employees, it has become an organization dominated by international staff that hail from all over the world. While the leadership is still firmly in Swiss hands, the transformation has put into question to what extent the ICRC has been able to uphold its foundational values and its special relationship with Swiss culture. The strong ties with Swiss values such as neutrality, independence, consensus, reliability, work ethics, and participation used to be perceived as key factors for the organization’s continuity and success in delivering humanitarian aid in a politically more and more divided world. Indeed, from a historical perspective, the Swiss rootedness shaping the organizational culture and identity allowed the ICRC to be successful in its endeavors as a neutral humanitarian actor even in times of crises. This paper, through an analysis of interviews with ICRC staff members of different nationalities, seeks to explore to what extent Swiss values are perceived to still matter in the ICRC, its humanitarian work and how Swiss and non-Swiss staff members interpret these values. The research suggests that there are three distinct narratives, namely, an internationalist, a traditionalist, and a pragmatist. While the internationalist narrative perceives the ICRC’s internationalization as a positive development for the organization as a whole, the traditionalist is concerned about detrimental effects on the organizational culture as well as on the credibility of the humanitarian work in the field. The pragmatist narrative recognizes the benefits of strong Swiss values in the ICRC, yet highlights that current developments call for internationalization. The study extends our understanding of the importance of core organizational values and principles in a process of internationalization in order to stay a credible and successful humanitarian actor.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41018-019-0060-0HumanitarianismInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)Organizational cultureOrganizational values and principlesSwissnessSwitzerland |
| spellingShingle | Claudia Franziska Brühwiler Patricia Egli Yvette Sánchez The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook Journal of International Humanitarian Action Humanitarianism International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Organizational culture Organizational values and principles Swissness Switzerland |
| title | The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook |
| title_full | The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook |
| title_fullStr | The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook |
| title_short | The ICRC at a crossroads: Swiss roots—international outlook |
| title_sort | icrc at a crossroads swiss roots international outlook |
| topic | Humanitarianism International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Organizational culture Organizational values and principles Swissness Switzerland |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41018-019-0060-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT claudiafranziskabruhwiler theicrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook AT patriciaegli theicrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook AT yvettesanchez theicrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook AT claudiafranziskabruhwiler icrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook AT patriciaegli icrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook AT yvettesanchez icrcatacrossroadsswissrootsinternationaloutlook |