Dr. Isabelle Desportes | Forscherin

Umwelt, Klima, Energie: Gesellschaften und ihre ökologischen Herausforderungen
Centre Marc Bloch, Friedrichstraße 191, D-10117 Berlin
E-Mail: isabelle.desportes  ( at )  cmb.hu-berlin.de Tel: +49(0) 30 / 20 93 70700

Mutterinstitut : Centre Marc Bloch | Position : Postdoc | Fachbereich : Politikwissenschaft , Geographie , Soziologie |

Biographie

Isabelle Desportes ist Postdoktorandin am Centre Marc Bloch der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, und Dozentin an der RWTH Aachen. Ihr Forschungsschwerpunkt liegt auf den sozial-politischen Dynamiken der Katastrophenentstehung, -prävention und –bewältigung, auch in von Konflikt und autoritären Praktiken geprägten Kontexten.

Ihr aktuelles Projekt, DisasterLobby, ist an der Schnittstelle von kritischer Katastrophenforschung und ökologischer Transformationsforschung angesiedelt. Es nähert sich Katastrophen als Symptome nicht nachhaltiger Gesellschaftsformen und konzentriert sich darauf, wie verschiedene Akteure auf die jüngsten Waldbrände in Brandenburg (Deutschland) und in der Nähe von Bordeaux (Frankreich) zurückgreifen, um ihre Interessen voranzutreiben.

Isabelle hat im November 2020 am International Institute of Social Studies in Den Haag promoviert. Vorherige akademische und auch nicht-akademische Arbeitsstationen waren die Katastrophenforschungsstelle an der Freien Universität Berlin, die Universitäten von Amsterdam und Kapstadt, die Internationale Föderation des Roten Kreuz Roten Halbmonds in Genf, das Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in Addis Abeba und das Entwicklungsprogramm der Vereinten Nationen (UNDP) in Bratislawa.

Forschungsthema

Klimawandel, Konflikt, Katastrophen, Humanitarian Governance

Titel der Dissertation

Repression Without Resistance: Disaster Responses in Authoritarian Low-Intensity Conflict Settings

Institution der Dissertation
International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Betreuer
Prof. Dr. Dorothea Hilhorst, Dr. Roanne van Voorst
Projekte

 

2021-2024: 'TsunamiRisk: Multi-risk assessment and cascade effect analysis in cooperation between Indonesia and Germany - Joint research on tsunamis induced by volcanoes and landslides', funded by the German Ministry of Research BMBF

2016-2020: 'When Disaster meets Conflict', funded by the Dutch Research Council NWO

2013: 'Flooding in Cape Town under Climate Risk', funded by the British and the Canadian International Development Research Centre IDRC

DisasterLobby

My research approaches disasters such as deadly floods or wildfires as socio-politically constructed and as symptoms of our currently unsustainable societies. It specifically deals with how various actors materially and discursively draw back on disasters to advance their own interests - for instance, through the (depoliticised) framing of disaster root causes and solutions. I am particularly interested in the role wildfires can play in bringing about the necessary socio-ecological transformation. Which materialities, discursive framings, but also the deeper imaginaries associated to fires, forests and a 'burning world' play a role in the process?

Depoliticising Humanitarian Action Paradigms, Dilemmas, Resistance

01.Januar 2025

Isabelle Desportes , Alice Corbet, Ayesha Siddiqi (Editors)

Sammelband

Edition: Routledge
ISBN: 9781032535098

Link to the book page

Is it ever possible to separate humanitarian action from politics? Drawing on the experience of both practitioners and researchers, this book is an essential guide to the thorny interplay between what are too often considered as separate worlds.

The humanitarian sector aims to separate its work from politics, arguing that independence and neutrality are essential in order to gain entry into disaster and conflict settings. Yet, humanitarian claims of non-involvement in politics have also been dismissed as misleading, naive, or counter-productive. In practice, humanitarians find themselves working within political settings on a daily basis. This book investigates the theory behind depoliticisation, the political background and context behind humanitarian action, and the daily dilemmas faced by practitioners walking that fine line between principles and pragmatism. Finally, this book considers the importance of decolonising mainstream understandings of humanitarianism and politics, and of placing understandings from the Global South at the heart of the discussion.

Balancing theoretical insights with empirical grounding, field examples, and recommendations for policy and practice, this book is perfect for researchers and students in humanitarian studies, political science, international relations, human rights, development studies, disaster studies, and peace and conflict studies, as well as humanitarian practitioners and policy makers.


Publikationen

Book and special issue editorships

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Book chapers

  • Desportes, I. (in press). ‘Theories of power: Disaster paradigms and what they aim to stifle’. In Principles and Concepts of Disaster Risks, Vol.1., edited by I. Kelman. New York: Springer.

Blogs and newspaper editorials

Selected publications for policy and practitioner audiences

  • Desportes, I. & Voss, M. (2023). Kurzstudie über die Kommunikation des Auswärtigen Amts und ausgewählter westlicher Geberländer zum Thema humanitärer Hilfe (Bericht nicht öffentlich). Berlin: Akademie der Katastrophenforschungstelle.
  • Hilhorst, D., van Voorst, R., Mena, R., Desportes, I. & Melis, S. (2019). Disaster Response and Humanitarian Aid in Different Conflict Scenarios. Geneva: United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
  • Desportes, I. (2015). Partners for Resilience in Ethiopia, Country Case for the Qualitative Process and Impact Study. Groningen: University of Groningen.

Doctoral and Master thesis