Humanitarianism and White Saviors

This chapter examines the figure of the White savior and the way Whiteness is constituted through the performance of humanitarian care for distant strangers. The first section of the chapter examines the historical formation of White saviorism, as both a specifically imperial practice and a means of exhibiting White moral exceptionality, relating this to the communication practices of contemporary Northern humanitarian organizations. The second part of the chapter presents critiques of the White savior figure. The final section situates Teju Cole’s critique of the “White savior industrial complex” in terms of initiatives to address racism within humanitarianism. The chapter highlights the distinction between White saviorism as an attitude, which is widely condemned, and the way saviorism continues to function as an orientation through which relations between the global North and the global South are understood. While humanitarianism has come to be associated with post-racial attitudes, this reflects the way White supremacy has adapted over time rather than a renunciation of racial thinking.