This book has sought to document and implement parallel shifts in how we conceptualize and practise aid. Central to this effort has been a re-examination of development and humanitarianism. As discussed in the Introduction, Western-liberal, institutionalized forms of aid – largely shaped and directed by the Global North – have long dominated teaching, literature and policy making in this field. However, drawing on substantial new empirical evidence, including our own research and that of others, we argue for a fundamental shift in focus to recognize the multitude of alternative forms of aid. Specifically, we propose that these can be characterized as horizontal in contrast to the prevailing vertical forms, which are defined by power imbalances and hierarchical structures of knowledge and authority. Far from being novel or emergent, these horizontal forms often predate the institutionalized Western-liberal approaches. Their recent resurgence, including in contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores their enduring relevance and adaptability. Indeed, we suggest that institutionalized aid may represent a brief episode within the much longer history of how humans have historically supported one another.

We have thus examined the critical impasse in teaching and practising development, particularly in light of the mounting critique of dominant paradigms. This critique has grown increasingly forceful, spurred by the movement to decolonize development and the enduring analysis of humanitarianism as a mechanism of governmentality and control. Key critiques revolve around race, class and inequalities in multifaceted forms (Mitchell and Pallister-Wilkins, 2023; Roth et al, 2024).