The Critical Value of Time in Humanitarian Cash Transfer Programs : An Analysis of the Essn Program for Refugees in Türkiye

The share of cash transfers (CTs) within international humanitarian assistance has notably increased during the last decade, as they are seen as a « dignified » modality of aid through which beneficiaries can freely define their needs instead of receiving in-kind goods based on exogenous evaluations of needs. Yet the promotion of humanitarian CT also has its roots in the digitalization of humanitarian work and may indirectly relate to the global « funding crisis » faced by the humanitarian sector, allowing CTs to be a more « cost-effective » solution for organizations compared with the higher logistical costs required to deliver in-kind products such as food and medicine.

The case of Türkiye is of particular interest to discuss the social, political and financial implications of humanitarian CT programs. Türkiye has seen the settling of the largest ever humanitarian CT program targeting refugees after the beginning of the Syrian war and the signature of the 2016 Türkiye-EU agreement. Benefitting refugees only, funded by the EU and initially implemented through a consortium of humanitarian agencies, the program has led to mixed outcomes because of its intertwinement with EU migration policy concerns and its critical questioning regarding the substitutive role of humanitarian programs to the direct, sustainable provision of welfare.

This contribution will trace the genesis and the evolutions of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) until its responsiblity was transfered to the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Services in late 2023. It will specifically elaborate on the critical value of time in humanitarian CT, as emergency time is a key variable for intervention, as time is conducive to adjustments due to political and technical concerns, and time is embedded with uncertainty regarding the precarious perpetuation, years after years, of a temporary CT program for (ultimately) undesired refugees.