International aid agencies, particularly those involved in crisis-response who handle larger bud­gets, have power over national crisis responders. The primary source of that power is money. It is not just the money that is currently available for a particular crisis response, but many years of good resourcing that has allowed international organisations to attract and retain expertise and invest in organisational systems and practices. Power is useful in its form of ‘power to’: the ability to do something and put the necessary resources behind it. With that power also comes the responsibility to demonstrate good stewardship of the resources with which we have been entrusted. But power can become attractive for its potential to influence and use others to do what you want them to do: ‘power over’.

This paper is written mostly for international aid agencies, although the question of responsible use and/or abuse of power also applies to and between national and local agencies. It offers a set of questions for honest reflection – and action to correct identified abuses of power.