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War and displacement have led to a massive increase of the presence of humanitarian actors in the Middle East. State institutions, inter-state organisations, international and national NGOs as well as social and religious networks provide assistance and exert their influence. Even though humanitarian action is often portrayed as apolitical it is deeply involved in global power relations, local notions of solidarity as well as cultural, religious and conflict-driven motives for aid. Humanitarianism has thus become a central realm for the negotiation of governance-related questions. Against this background the panel welcomes abstracts which reconstruct humanitarian action in the Middle East as a field of social and political struggles. Abstracts, about 300-400 words long, should be sent by 25 January to Susanne Schmelter (Göttingen University / Orient-Institut Beirut): su.schmelter@gmail.com