Volunteering in Conflicts and Emergencies Theme Paper 2: The Dangers of Being Local

This paper, the second of six preliminary working papers of Volunteering in Conflict and Emergencies (ViCE) initiative, unpacks the notion of ‘local’ in local volunteering in conflicts and emergencies. The paper argues that local volunteers are identified as offering better knowledge of affected communities and more secure access to those groups in need; but local communities, particularly in conflicts and emergencies, are in a state of constant flux which means what counts as local can change rapidly; being local can bring additional risks – local volunteers may be associated with a particular group and often cannot leave the setting, unlike international aid workers.