Prof. John-Paul Himka takes a dim view of Canadian efforts to help prevent famines and has no lack of front-page new stories to help make his point.

“In the Israeli-Gaza conflict we saw recently, a lot of that was about fighting for power and resources,” Himka says. “The blockade around Gaza is about resources as are many of the political conflicts in the world right now.”

Himka is a professor with the department of history and classics who specializes in the Ukrainian Holodomor. He has a special interest in how governments use food as a political tool to coerce civilians and enfeeble political opponents.

“It’s become a cheap and very effective way of moulding the political consensus, making sure that your opponents do not flourish and increase in number or strength,” Himka says. “We’re looking at societies that rely heavily on patronage networks. In bad times, somebody, a landlord or a chief, has put aside food. When no one else can grow crops, control of the food puts you in power.”

While many countries might assume that rebalancing power in such situations is as easy as bringing food to poor areas, that’s not the case.  In international politics, borders are real barriers that take time to overcome. Besides, once food shortages reach the level of government, there is little external forces can do to alleviate suffering. “Often, aid agencies can’t publicize these situations because they’re involved in negotiations to get food through to those that need it,” he says. “By the time hunger is used at a political level, what can America do, what can Canada do? They have aid programs, but at that point there isn’t much we can do.”

But in the face of such challenges, Himka remains an optimist, maintaining that despite the apparent bleakness of famines like that caused in Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe, in Darfur, and, in the past, Ukraine, vocal dialogue is the first and strongest step bystanders can take towards a remedy.

“We’re not going to change the world talking about these issues,” he says. “But it’s important to say them instead of remaining silent.”