NGOs: between buzzwords and social movements

The associations that the term ‘NGO’ has acquired in development discourse need to be critically analysed in relation to practice on the ground. Drawing on an analysis of the rise of NGOs in Palestine, the author suggests that the development of the NGO movement served to demobilise Palestinian civil society in a phase of national struggle. Through professionalisation and projectisation brought about by donor-funded attempts to promote ‘civil society’, a process of NGOisation has taken place. The progressive de-politicisation of the women's movement that NGOisation has brought about has created a vacuum that has been increasingly filled by the militancy of the Islamic Movement (Hamas). As this case shows, ‘NGOs’ may be a development buzzword, but they are no magic bullet. Rather than taking for granted the positive, democratising effects of the growth and spread of NGOs as if they represented ‘civil society’ itself, this article contends, a more critical approach is needed, one that takes greater account of the politics of specific contexts and of the dynamics of institutionalisation.     

Universities,NGOs, and civil society sustainability: preliminary lessons from Ecuador

The context for NGOs in the Global South – delegitimising discourse, restrictive policies, and decreasing international funding – leads to major concerns about the sustainability of organised civil society. As a result, NGOs are exploring new means to contribute to social development. This article explores developing university–NGO collaborations through the case of Ecuador. It contributes to development research on two fronts. First, it examines the role of the university in the South and their collaborations with NGOs. Second, it situates university–NGO collaborations within concerns about civil society sustainability. The article presents lessons learnt by Ecuadorian NGOs.     

菲律宾的非政府组织

本文分析了菲律宾作为拥有全球第三大非政府组织(NGO)的发展中国家,其非政府组织的缘起、总体情况及其发展趋势,并认为目前菲律宾NGO对国家和地区政策的影响仍然不大,但通过市民社会与国家的互动,有可能在国家政治生活中发挥更大的作用并影响政治决策。     

United we stand: labour unions and human rights NGOs in the democratisation process in Nigeria

Human rights NGOs were the vanguard of the struggle for democratisation in Nigeria, but they had to forge alliances with labour unions and other groups to galvanise this process effectively. This paper explores the alliances between labour unions and NGOs in the struggle against military dictatorship in Nigeria to analyse how horizontal relationships have fared in exchanges within civil society. It argues that the exigencies of sustained political struggle throw up conflicts over issues of participation, accountability, and egalitarianism that in turn promote social capital within civil society by mitigating hierarchically structured and asymmetrical patterns of exchange among its members.     

Building civil society through partnership: lessons from a case study of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee

Civil society is seen increasingly as a necessary element of sustainable human development. Some Northern NGOs hope to contribute to the development of civil society by partnering with Southern NGOs. However, recent scholarship shows that such partnerships are frequently dominated by the Northern NGO, thus inhibiting the establishment of vibrant, locally owned and locally managed civil society organisations. This paper explores some of the practical reasons for this imbalance and suggests strategies for working within what Alan Fowler calls ‘authentic partnerships’. Such partnerships prevent the domination of Northern NGOs and thus help foster a climate more amenable to the growth of civil society. Suggested strategies for promoting authentic partnerships address funding, working relationships, phase-out, advocacy, and evaluation of the partnership itself. The paper draws on a case study of the partnership work of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), a North American faith-based NGO.     

Breaking the cycle of violence: doing development in situations of conflict

During the 1980s, armed conflict devastated an increasing number of the world's poorest countries. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged in relief and development were hard-pressed to determine their most effective response to situations where normal development became meaningless, and yet short-term relief programmes failed to deal with ‘permanent emergencies?s. This article describes the nature of these conflicts, their impact on the poor, and the evolution of NGO programmes in response. It explains why some NGOs have attempted to do development in the face of on-going violence, sometimes employing risky strategies and desperate measures. It argues the need for NGOs to play a part in building a civil society which can help to break the cycle of violence.     

EU assistance for civil society in Kosovo: a step too far for democracy promotion?

EU assistance for Kosovo is the most ambitious external relations venture embarked upon by the Commission to date. Not surprisingly, much of the aid is framed in terms of ‘civil society’ and channelled through a handful of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). But attempts by foreign donors to promote civil society exogenously across post-socialist Eurasia are deemed to have achieved little in terms of stimulating individual participation and civic engagement. In response the EU appears to have refined its approach by combining the usual support for larger NGOs with more basic assistance for grassroots networks and community-based initiatives. Whilst such a twin-track strategy is arguably appropriate in the context of Kosovo where civil society participation is particularly low, in terms of maximizing the critical development of transactional capacity the approach may fail to target resources most effectively. It is argued here that there is a danger that normative concerns about liberal pluralism, enriching civil society and ensuring that assistance is widely dispersed may ultimately detract from the imperative of deploying limited resources first and foremost to secure a core of sustainable NGOs with developed capacity to engage government, the international community and other non-state actors in the process of policy reform. Indeed, drawing on the experience of civil society assistance in new member states of Central and Eastern Europe, it would seem that although NGOs are often criticized for their detachment from community organizations and campaigns, they perform a critical ‘behind the scenes’ role in policy change and state transformation. They can, if donor funding is appropriately targeted, facilitate the emergence of civil society networks through which small community organizations are then linked with larger, established and capacity-endowed organizations.     

New forms of environmental governance? A case study of Costa Rican environmental NGOs

Increasingly development theorists and practitioners view NGOs as catalysts of sustainable development. NGOs have been regarded as champions of democratisation and promoters of new ways of engaging in politics, with considerable influence on the development of civil society and new partnerships in environmental and social advocacy. This article analyses the ways in which Costa Rican environmental NGOs (ENGOs) engage in politics, by focusing on their perceptions of their roles in environmental governance and in representation of civil society. The results of this study suggest that the ENGOs' ways of engaging in politics differ little from traditional forms of governance, while their conceptions of engaging in politics without being political are novel. While most ENGOs had no clear conception of the stakeholders whom they were supposed to be representing, the notion of representativeness is complex and should be revisited.     

Building partnerships between Northern and Southern development NGOs: Issues for the 1990s

The number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in development in the North and the South has increased dramatically over the last ten years, provoking calls for new partnerships between them. But Southern NGOs have often been disadvantaged in the search for true NGO partnerships, because they know too little about their Northern counterparts. This article therefore describes some important features of Northern NGOs. It then goes on to identify critical issues involved in negotiating partnerships with them. Finally, the need for equitable NGO partnerships is considered in the broader context of strengthening the third sector in civil society.     

Trust deficit: Japanese communities and the challenge of rebuilding Tohoku

Abstract

Trust between civil society and the state is a necessary pre-condition for successful public policy in advanced industrial democracies. It is all the more important following a mass catastrophe that affects hundreds of thousands and upends the rhythms of daily life across the country. Choices made by the Japanese government and energy utilities during and after the compounded 11 March 2011 disasters damaged relationships between civil society, utility firms, and the government. This article looks at how decision makers in Japan continue to struggle with a trust deficit and how that gap has altered the behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society as a whole. Residents will continue to resist what they see as flawed disaster recovery and nuclear restart processes unless the political system undergoes major reform.     

Good intentions are not enough: French NGO efforts at democracy building in Cameroon

NGOs have traditionally had little scope to bring about political reform in developing countries. This was certainly true of French development NGOs (NGDOs) operating in Cameroon during the early post-colonial decades. This situation changed in 2002 when French NGDOs, with support from the French state and Cameroonian civil society, initiated a multi-actor consultative programme (the PCPA), aiming to build democracy in Cameroon. This article traces the origins of the PCPA, assesses its achievements, and explains why the programme failed. It then identifies key lessons and asks whether the PCPA represents a useful model for French NGOs and donor states.     

“They Have Achieved a Lot Because we Have Paid Them to do a Lot”: NGOs and the International Community in the West Balkans. Perceptions of Each Other

Strengthening civil society has had a prominent place in the international community's strategy for the West Balkans. Rather than creating an independent and sustainable NGO sector, however, it has made local NGOs largely dependent on the international community for funding and other assistance. This article examines the international community's perceptions of local NGOs and vice versa, drawing on findings from 60 in-depth interviews with representatives of the international community and 18 focus groups with NGO representatives in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia. While the international community is fairly positive towards the NGO sector, the NGOs are more critical of the international community, and particularly so in Macedonia. Perceptions are shaped by a number of individual and organisational factors as well as by the international community's overall agenda in the region.     

Facilitators of development or Kapos for capital: the primrose path to GATS

This article arose from work undertaken on behalf of a UK-based NGO developing a policy response to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It looks at GATS as a key to locating development NGOs (NGDOs) within the broader field of development aims and practices, examining the long-term implications of GATS with respect to the idea of a ‘fourth position’ for such NGOs. It is argued that this theoretical position fails to take into account changing imbalances of power between NGDOs and their Southern counterparts that began under structural adjustment, as a consequence of which many NGDOs now occupy a position from which effective mediation between civil society, the state, and the market would be difficult if not impossible. In addition, GATS represents a step-change along the evolutionary path towards a market-oriented ideology whose verticalist worldview represents a profound contradiction to the avowedly progressive aims of most NGDOs.     

The power of informality: European Union’s engagement with non-state actors in Common Security and Defence Policy

This article examines the little explored issue of non-state actor (NSA) participation in the European Union’s (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Despite the fact that NGOs and civil society are shielded from formal access to CSDP, EU staff in both Brussels and the missions engage with them informally. Drawing on interviews with policy-makers and NSA representatives, the article analyses the practices of the EU in its engagement with NSAs, focusing on civilian missions in Georgia and Palestine. It shows that such engagement is more intense during implementation at the level of CSDP missions rather than during policy-making in Brussels. It argues that a combination of rational choice-based (functional needs of policy-makers and intensity of NSA advocacy) and constructivist (organisational and individual cultures) explanations helps us better understand why CSDP structures open up to NSAs. The article contributes to the nascent academic and policy debate on EU–civil society cooperation in CSDP and, more broadly, to the studies of informal governance in the EU and NSA participation in international organisations.     

NGOs and Cuba: Opportunity or opportunism?

Reporting on a large gathering of international and Cuban NGOs and other agencies, this article explores the issues faced by Cuban society in undergoing rapid economic change; and examines why the New World Order has not led to any significant involvement with Cuba, either by the inter-governmental agencies or by independent NGOs. It describes the roles of State-sponsored bodies in maintaining the major development gains of the last 30 years; and argues that NGOs which see their role as promoting 'democratisation' must avoid falling into simplistic and inappropriate assumptions about the distinction between the State and 'civil society'.     

东南亚非政府组织:源起、现状与前景——以马来西亚、泰国、菲律宾、印度尼西亚为例

近30年来,随着东南亚国家政治经济的发展,公民社会的力量也逐步增强,非政府组织在国家政治生活中的地位也愈发重要。由于东南亚国家有着各自不同的历史发展背景和社会政治体制,相应地,各国非政府组织的发展也存在着多样性。本文以马来西亚、泰国、菲律宾、印度尼西亚为例,研究东南亚非政府组织的发展情况。     

Another invasion: Lessons from international support to East Timorese NGOs

This article seeks to contribute to the debate on collaboration between national and international NGOs. It argues that it is vital for the development of stable, independent, and viable civil societies that international NGOs promote a bottom-up approach in their support to and collaboration with local NGOs, especially among those emerging from situations of conflict or other profound social disruptions. From a study carried out in East Timor, the author concludes that there is a noticeable discrepancy between rhetoric and practice with regard to such support. The multiple challenges the international NGO community faces on this front persist despite the existence of abundant learning opportunities accumulated through years of development work. The author argues that such challenges are less a question of standards and rules than of basic approach, attitudes, and power relations. She maintains that if international NGOs and the wider international community do not alter their approach, they will suffocate rather than foster the development of a viable and autonomous civil society in the countries in which they operate.     

Memory,suffering, survival tactics,and healing among Jopadhola women in post-war Uganda

This ethnographic case study addresses the question of how women in Jopadhola patriarchal society in Eastern Uganda remember three decades of civil war and violence and survived its aftermath. When the war ended, little changed for these women, who are still exposed to a continuum of gender-based violence and continue to use the same tactics that, during the war, enabled them somehow to live with their suffering. Local NGOs, with the support of the government, have started to assist Jopadhola women to improve the quality of their present-day lives. By rebuilding their human and social capital, these NGOs are also creating the space for women to heal their war memories.     

Toward purposeful individual capacity strengthening: alternative considerations for Western NGOs

The international donor community continues to emphasise country-led development strategies designed to equitably engage public and civil society agents in managing development assistance. Similarly donors who fund Western NGOs to implement development programmes on their behalf in recipient countries are increasingly pushing for cost-effective programme implementation that actively engages local actors. This article proposes an alternative theoretically grounded model for individual capacity strengthening to responsive and mission-driven Western NGOs that claim to be committed to ideals of capacity strengthening and indigenisation of programme leadership.     

When do NGOs Matter? Activist Organisations as a Source of Change in the International Debt Regime

Who drives change in international economic regimes? While mainstream International Political Economy scholarship has traditionally focused on the major players within states and markets as the key sources of political and economic change, recent studies have sought to highlight the important role that is also played by a wider range of social actors. A common point of reference here is the activities undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with the campaign to put debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries on the global agenda being often cited as the exemplar of a civil society success story. This article explores the mechanisms through which the international sovereign debt regime for the world's poorest and most indebted economies has changed over the last 15 years, with increasing acceptance that large-scale debt relief was appropriate for a select group of countries leading to the establishment of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996 and the Enhanced HIPC Initiative in 1999. Through tracing how international NGOs were able to shape the reform agenda with respect to the international sovereign debt regime for low-income countries, the article seeks to enhance our understanding of when, why, and how NGOs can potentially act as an important source of change in international economic regimes.