Understanding Humanitarian Competition -- post-1918 Conflicts within the International Committee of the Red Cross

At the end of World War I, the ICRC was unanimously praised for its beneficial action towards prisoners of war. Simultaneously, the League of the Societies of the Red Cross was founded, whose ambition it was to promote a new type of humanitarian action focused on peace time activities. Soon enough both institutions were to (sometimes ferociously) confront each other. This article describes and analyses the first years of this long-lasting struggle. Above all, this paper raises the question of the subtle and multifaceted competition that could possibly arise between humanitarian institutions. Adapted from the source document.