Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience ed. by Claire Magone, Michaël Neuman, and Fabrice Weissman

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Third Reich in early 1945, is renowned for stating, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil." In Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience this is precisely the issue at hand. Three Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) insiders who either currently or previously worked for the medical NGO edit the volume, and current and former MSF employees contribute to the essays. The case studies that are examined and the commentary reveal a side of MSF that is often hidden by the organization's humanitarian undertakings. A complex system of compromises and politics is exposed as MSF attempts to navigate the rough seas of humanitarian aid in the midst of bitter international conflict.

Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed is divided into two sections. Part I is composed of stories of MSF operating in perilous places throughout the world. This includes specific negotiation situations in which MSF has had to delve into the politics of the particular milieu. Stories from MSF acting in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Gaza Strip, Myanmar, Nigeria, India, and many other states and conflicts are included. These stories act as case studies, displaying characteristics of the organization. Specifically, one salient issue that recurs throughout the stories is the way in which MSF has approached free speech within the organization. Each story helps to unravel that MSF has struggled often with this issue, oftentimes opting to sacrifice its freedom of speech and keep silent on issues of unlawful killings and human rights (bombings, genocide, other violence against non-combatants) in order to continue their medical humanitarian work. These stories undoubtedly leave the reader with a slightly altered perspective of MSF and its work. They provide a glimpse into the inner workings of one of the world's most respected NGOs, and they offer a unique viewpoint of many major conflicts from the past several years.

Part II is considerably shorter and consists of historical background of how MSF has evolved in their stance on interventions that go beyond strictly the medical realm. The initial chapter, "Silence Heals … From the Cold War to the War on Terror, MSF Speaks Out: A Brief History," begins by noting a growing number of states in which MSF operates requires them to do so with strict confidentiality. Those within the organization are not always comfortable with such a stance, claiming they have a right, and perhaps duty, to speak out and bear witness to the evil and criminal transactions they see. The chapter maintains MSF remains reluctant to make use of its capacity to speak out against the atrocities it witnesses, for there is a fear they will be viewed as a stakeholder in political, legal, or military processes and this will compromise the nearly unfettered access to conflict zones that they have achieved.

In the second chapter of Part II, entitled "Caring for Health," the author engages four decades of MSF's work (1971-2011) and shows how the organization has sought to navigate public health crises abroad in the midst of major geopolitical upheavals. They present MSF's response to epidemics and the manner in which MSF has been immersed in global health. The organization's response to the AIDS epidemic in Africa is a major feature of this chapter. The author notes MSF made the decision that influencing public policy was a necessary action to reach the root of the problem. To do so, MSF had to work with activist organizations in order to attempt to instill change. The final chapter in Part II is an interview of a French doctor with intimate knowledge of the way MSF approaches and responds to natural disasters. The interview walks through the MSF mission in regard to natural disasters and provides specific examples of how the organization has responded.

The major strength of this work is that it provides the audience with an insider perspective on how MSF...