The Business of Conflict

This chapter presents an example of how humanitarian aid adapted the realities of the Syrian war. It examines the context of besiegement that reached populations under siege through utilizing the corruption mechanisms of informal networks and smugglers. It also describes how the humanitarian actors’ adaptations to the realities of besiegement, which caused the aid system to contribute to the war economy. The chapter discusses the provision of humanitarian aid by states as a substitute for meaningful foreign policy when healthcare provision was deeply political process steeped in the dynamics of the Syria conflict. It highlights a process of aid delivery that is intertwined with the endemic corruption of the war as a business model, which generated a form of entrepreneurial neutrality.