Contemporary processes of globalization beckon consideration of the discursive forces that shape our perceptions of community, group identity, solidarity, and belongingness. The freedoms and limits endemic to life in a globalized world afford a variety of communicative resources for those seekingto promote humane social action. In this article, the author engages the discourse of Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian-based nongovernmental organization, to illuminate its stake in contemporary global politics. Through its rhetorical crafting of a public image of neutrality, its use of media channels to publicize events, and its discursive construction of a humanitarian space for social action, Médecins Sans Frontières conscripts the powerful ethos of the social imaginary in an attempt to forge a global community uniting individuals, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and international institutions.
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