Humanitarian aid and natural disasters : a study of selected European countries The aim of this dissertation is to investigate which factors are most significant in influencing the provision of humanitarian assistance from European Union’s member states to countries stricken by a sudden natural disaster. This dissertation evaluates three research hypotheses. The first hypothesis identifies domestic politics as the key factor in determining the extent to which a door country provides humanitarian assistance to a disaster stricken country. The second hypothesis revolves around the idea that ethical considerations pertaining to the magnitude of the natural disaster under investigation are the fundamental factor determining the extent to which a donor country is ready to provide emergency humanitarian aid. Finally the third hypothesis concentrates on an institutionalist argument whereby the nature of a donor country’s humanitarian mechanism is the key explanatory factor accounting for the degree to which a donor country might provide humanitarian assistance to a country struck by a natural disaster. In order to investigate the three research hypotheses presented above this dissertation triangulates its empirical findings by employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Seven European Union member states are selected as case studies: Demark France Germany Italy the Netherlands Spain and the United Kingdom. The empirical findings present a picture whereby the magnitude of a disaster and the humanitarian mechanism of a donor country both play a particularly significant role in influencing the extent to which a government is ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to disaster stricken countries.