Who are the locals? : Portrayal of local actors in localisation

Abstract: In recent years localisation has risen on the agenda in the humanitarian sector. It is seen to have great deal of benefits including being more cost efficient, more sensitive to culture and context and offers quicker responses. Opponents to this claim that it is too difficult to know whichactors can be trusted and that there is a risk that they do not comply with the humanitarian principles. In addition to this, concerned voices have risen that criticise the use of the term ‘local’. It lacks a common definition and is often used without a discussion of who it refers to. Changing this is of vital importance if the humanitarian sector wants to work against the power imbalances that remain from colonialism. Critical localism is a theory that criticises this arbitrary use of ‘local’ and sets out a framework for a variety of factors that should be taken into consideration when discussing and defining the ‘local’. This thesis is a case study conducted through a theoretical thematic analysis thatinvestigates if the localisation initiative Local to Global Protection complies with the guidelines of critical localism, with an additional focus on Eurocentric presence in academic work. The results from this study can be used to shed light on the problem with an arbitrary portrayal of ‘local’ while also offering real examples from the humanitarian field on how to avoid it. The findings showed that the initiative complied with the guidelines to a large degree. Its strongest area was the way ‘locals’ were presented from their own point of view instead of letting large international actors present their view of them. The part that showed most room for improvement was the lack of representation of the authors own bias in the portrayal of the ‘local’.