Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations

Discussion over celebrity engagement is often limited to theoretical critique or normative name-calling, without much grounded research into what it is that celebrities are doing, the same or differently throughout the world. Crucially, little attention has been paid to the Global South, either as a place where celebrities intervene into existing politics and social processes, or as the generator of Southern celebrities engaged in 'do-gooding'. This book examines what the diverse roster of celebrity humanitarians are actually doing in and across North and South contexts. Celebrity humanitarianism is an effective lens for viewing the multiple and diverse relationships that constitute the links between North and South. New empirical findings on celebrity humanitarianism on the ground in Thailand, Malawi, Bangladesh, South Africa, China, Haiti, Congo, US, Denmark and Australia illustrate the impact of celebrity humanitarianism in the Global South and celebritization, participation and democratization in the donor North. By investigating one of the most mediatized and distant representations of humanitarianism (the celebrity intervention) from a perspective of contextualization, the book underscores the importance of context in international development. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of development studies, celebrity studies, anthropology, political science, geography, and related disciplines. It is also of great relevance to development practitioners, humanitarian NGOs, and professionals in business (CSR, fair trade) who work in the increasingly celebritized field.

Lisa Ann Richey is Professor of International Development Studies in the Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University, Denmark.

Introduction. Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations. Politics, Place and Power Part 1: Celebrity-Impact in the Global South 1. Angelina Jolie and the Everyday Geopolitics of Celebrity Humanitarianism in a Thailand-Burma Border Town 2. Madonna in Malawi. Celebritized Interventions and Local Politics of Development in the South 3. Muhammad Yunus. A Bangladeshi Aid Celebrity 4. Sophie's Special Secret. Public Feeling, Consumption and Celebrity Activism in Post-Apartheid South Africa 5. Celebrity Philanthropy in China. the political critique of Pu Cunxin's AIDS heroism Part 2: Celebritization, Participatory Democracy, and the Donor North 6. Ben Affleck Goes to Washington. Celebrity Advocacy, Access and Influence 7. Humanitarian Relief Worker Sean Penn - A Contextual Story 8. Irony and Politically Incorrect Humanitarianism. Danish Celebrity-led Benefit Events 9. Celebrity, Humanitarianism and Settler-Colonialism. G.A Robinson and the Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land Epilogue. The Politics of Celebrity Humanitarianism