How Insider-Led Processes Lead to Localization: The Case of Digital Technology and Humanitarian Protection

Abstract The humanitarian sector has been increasingly concerned with localizing its activities—devolving capacity, power, and decision-making authority to the local communities and organizations that are the frequent recipients of its assistance. However, the mere “outsider-led” provision of assistance to local actors is not itself sufficient to empower them. Instead, we argue that “insider-led,” locally initiated processes can be an effective approach to localization. We identify how such shifts can occur and distinguish three different configurations of “insider-led” processes: Autonomous Adopters, Balanced Partners, and Exporting Entrepreneurs. We examine “insider-led” localization in the context of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for civilian protection in humanitarian settings. The adoption of these technologies can generate localization if the structural power dynamics between global and local actors also shift to elevate locals. To illustrate these localization processes, we draw on original interviews and examples involving technology in the domain of civilian protection from the White Helmets in Syria and the Indigenous Guards in Colombia and Ecuador. The cases indicate that three conditions are important for the success of technology's ability to generate “insider-led” localization: a degree of pre-existing capacity, social capital among local actors innovating ICTs for protection, and ties to outsiders. Our accounting of the mechanisms of “insider-led” processes shows how future localization efforts can sustainably rebalance relationships between global humanitarians and local actors.