Dr Stuart Gordon is an academic in the International Development Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Prior to his appointment at LSE he was at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the UK Defence Academy. He has served in the UK Armed Forces as both a Regular and Reserve Officer, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During 2003 he was the Operations Director for the US/UK’s Iraq Humanitarian Operations Centre in Baghdad, and he subsequently co-authored the UK government’s Afghanistan “Helmand Road Map”. He specializes in the politics of conflict and humanitarian action.

Antonio Donini is a Senior Researcher at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University and Research Associate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He works on issues relating to humanitarianism and the future of humanitarian action. He served for twenty-six years at the United Nations in research, evaluation and humanitarian capacities. His last post was as Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (1999–2002). He is the main author of the edited volume The Golden Fleece: Manipulation and Independence in Humanitarian Action (Kumarian Press, London, 2012).