Rethinking Aid and Social Policy in Times of Institutional Collapse

Participants Tamer Qarmout, Sofía Sprechmann Sinero, Oliver Walton

Moderator Juliana Martínez Franzoni.

In a powerful and timely conversation, scholars and practitioners came together to explore what it means to sustain life in contexts where the welfare mix itself—comprising state, market, community, and family—is systematically and intentionally dismantled. Drawing not only but especially on the case of Gaza, the discussion examined scenarios where institutions are not simply failing, but are being intentionally destroyed, with warfare, blockade, and aid restrictions converging to erode the very foundations of survival: food, shelter, water, healthcare and education, but also kinship, community and ways of governance over public goods.

The moderation framed the conversation within the broader social policy tradition, inviting us to consider how this kind of collapse forces us to expand categories to address the “welfare mix”. The discussion positioned Gaza not just as a humanitarian crisis, but as a case of intentional unmaking of life-sustaining systems, one that challenges mainstream models of aid and social protection.

Oliver Walton illuminated the deep entanglement between social policy, conflict, and legitimacy, reminding us that welfare institutions are never neutral—they are sites of political struggle. He stressed the importance of not only mapping destruction, but also tracing how people strive to care, organize, and maintain life amid the collapse of formal systems.

Tamer Qarmout brought practical insight from years of working with international aid in Gaza, underscoring that aid is a political tool—its flows can be delayed, weaponized, and instrumentalized. He highlighted how civil society becomes distorted when external funding replaces indigenous forms of welfare, weakening resilience and autonomy.

Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro grounded the discussion in the raw realities of humanitarian work: surgeries without anesthesia, deliveries in rooms without clean water, and aid trucks immobilized just kilometers away. She urged us to see decolonizing aid not as a slogan, but as a tangible shift in power: centering local actors, trusting communities, and rethinking the global North’s role in shaping aid systems.

Together, the speakers challenged the audience to move beyond the “failed state” and failed welfare narratives and instead recognize institutional collapse as a governance strategy. In such contexts, traditional assumptions about the welfare mix break down—and new models must emerge. They called for fresh research agendas, innovative methodologies and bold alliances rooted not in dependency, but in solidarity and local knowledge.