Money,power, and donor–NGO partnerships

The term ‘partnership’ can be considered something of a Trojan Horse, disguising the reality of the complex relationships in imbalances of power and inequality, often expressed through the control of one ‘partner’ over the other. With particular reference to the experience of a small, UK-based NGO working in Uganda (Hives Save Lives – Africa), this article highlights how power is manifest within donor–NGO partnerships through the control and flow of money; and illustrates that NGOs pursuing funding from donors face many challenges that reinforce this imbalance of power.     

NGO–researcher partnerships in global health research: benefits,challenges, and approaches that promote success

Partnerships involving NGOs and academic researchers (NGO–R partnerships) are increasing in global health research. Such collaborations present opportunities for knowledge translation in global health, yet are also associated with challenges for establishing and sustaining effective and respectful partnerships. We conducted a narrative review of the literature to identify benefits and challenges associated with NGO–R partnerships, as well as approaches that promote successful partnerships. We illustrate this analysis with examples from our own experiences. The results suggest that collaborations characterised by trust, transparency, respect, solidarity, and mutuality contribute to the development of successful and sustainable NGO–R partnerships.     

Promoting NGO–academic partnerships for population,health, and environment learning

Population, health, and environment (PHE) projects integrate family planning, community health, conservation, and livelihoods activities into a single effort. Despite growing calls for integrated services, relatively little academic research on PHE has been published, which has hampered the development of the approach. This article argues that additional partnerships between academics and NGOs are necessary to further advance learning around PHE. However, such partnerships need not be approached in the same way. The article discusses barriers that currently impede the development of stronger partnerships and adapts (Roper, L. 2002. “Achieving Successful Academic-Practitioner Research Collaborations.” Development in Practice 12 (3–4): 338–345) typology of NGO–academic partnership models to describe how different relationship types are currently leveraged within the PHE community.     

Power through trade: opportunities and constraints of the European Union’s norm entrepreneurship—the case of Hong Kong

Asia Europe Journal - The economic, trade, and cultural relations between the European Union (EU) and Hong Kong are widely recognized in the existing literature to be the most beneficial and...     

Explaining popular participation in India’s local democracy: Some lessons from panchayats in West Bengal

The 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution launched an extensive experiment in local democracy. Based on a study of 2,794 gram panchayats and field observations in West Bengal, this article examines when and why popular participation in panchayat elections—the most basic and visible aspect of local democracy—differs across local governments. The study finds that gram panchayats witness high levels of participation when they pursue policies that benefit the villagers, such as greater investment in education, and when they are seemingly less corrupt. Investment in public goods and lower rents are known to promote economic development and general welfare. In addition to these familiar implications, this study shows how these policies also have political consequences for democracy in India.     

NGO–business collaboration following the Indian CSR Bill 2013: trust-building collaborative social sector partnerships

The CSR Bill of 2013 introduced systematic corporate participation into social development in India. In the light of this law, this article argues that NGOs will play a decisive role in determining the benefits of corporate involvement and recommends that NGO–business partnerships are needed for meaningful social change. The article identifies a trust deficit between NGOs and businesses in India as a key obstacle to the success of NGO–business collaborations in the social sector. It suggests practices that could be adopted by NGOs to build trust in their partnerships with business partners, using a case study of one NGO, SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action).     

Making innovations work: local government–NGO partnership and collaborative governance in rural Bangladesh

This article reports on a local government–NGO partnership in rural Bangladesh. The findings suggest that BRAC’s Strengthening Local Governance initiative, through partnership with Union Parishads (the lowest tier of the existing local government structure), has been successful in strengthening the governance of Union Parishads by changing the mindsets of Union Parishad officials through building their capacity and mobilising people in the community to become involved in the Union Parishad’s service delivery process. As a result, the service delivery process has been streamlined, corruption reduced, and accountability and transparency increased.     

An unfulfilling partnership: Ukraine and the West, 1991–2001

The political crisis in Ukraine in early 2001 and then the terrorist attacks against the US and the resulting dramatic change of international setting have sealed the trend that had emerged much earlier: the once promising partnership between Ukraine and the West has ended up in mutual unhappiness. As the West is discovering new ‘geopolitical pivots’ in the aftermath of 11 September, Ukraine has almost disappeared from the radar screen of Western attention. Yet for good reasons what happens in Ukraine, a currently uncertain and weakened country with a poor international reputation, still matters for the West. There has always been a close link between Ukraine's transition and Western attitudes towards Ukraine. This might be the moment to think afresh about past and future Western policies vis‐à‐vis Ukraine.     

Women’s adoption of improved cook stoves in Timor-Leste: challenges and opportunities

This article examines Timorese women’s decision-making process of adoption of improved cooked stoves, using Slaski and Thurber’s conceptual framework of “motivation, affordability, and level of engagement”, developed by Slaski and Thurber (2009). Despite the obvious, evidence-based socio-economic benefits of using improved cook stoves, the majority of households still persist with their traditional cooking method. This article argues that the level of engagement with new technology needs to be contextualised in light of cultural attributes and beliefs which have led to the slow uptake of clean, efficient cooking technology.     

Challenges in donor–NPO relationships in the context of corporate social investment

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to highlight challenges in the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs within the context of corporate social investment (CSI) in South Africa and to link the relational challenges to problems NPOs face in general. It is theoretically argued that CSI forms an important part of sustainable development and that NPOs, in turn, form an integral part of many organisations’ social investment. The challenges faced by them need addressing for the sake of NPOs, donors and society as a whole. It was found that although the stakeholder relationship generally shows both positive and negative perceptions of the parties involved, the challenges that exist can be traced to challenges in the everyday functioning of NPOs, including resource limitations and dependence; staffing problems; and strategy, management and environmental challenges. These challenges facing NPOs manifest in their relationship with donors and can be seen in the power imbalance in the relationship that favours donors, the lack of transparency by NPOs, divergent views on commitment, the questioned competence of NPOs, time constraints in the execution of activities, a perceived incomprehension by NPOs of the realities of the business world, and an unwillingness on the part of donors to allow NPOs some decision-making power.     

The Main Activities and Features of NGO in 2003

In2003熏activitiesofnon-governmentalorganiza鄄tions穴NGO雪wereincreasing.Theinternationalcom鄄munitypaidmoreandmoreattentiontotheroleplayedbyNGO.ThecooperationamongNGOwasstrengthening.Governmentsofallcountriessupport鄄edtheactivitiesofNGOconditionallyandatthesametime熏tookadvantageoftheactivitiesheldbyNGOtoservetheirforeignpolicies.MainNGOactivitiesin20031.WorldSocialForum.FromJanuary23to28熏the3rdWorldSocialForumwasheldinthePortoAlegre熏Brazil.Over20熏000registeredrepresenta鄄tive…     

“As Far as His Army Can Reach”: Military Movements and East–West Discord in Germany, 1945

This article explores the diplomatic implications of United States troop movements in Germany before and after V-E Day. Existing accounts emphasize American good will and Soviet refusal to cooperate, pointing to the example of an American convoy en route to Berlin in June 1945. Citing an “agreement” of which the American convoy commander had never heard, the Russians would allow only one-half of his troops to proceed. The agreement did exist, however, and the episode must be seen against the backdrop of Soviet suspicions regarding Western willingness to withdraw from the Soviet occupation zone. United States President Harry S. Truman did overrule British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill's calls to link withdrawal to concessions from the Soviets, but he waited two months before doing so. Prior accounts have ignored the delay's effects on Soviet perceptions. The article argues that American actions had the unintended consequence of reinforcing Soviet Chairman Joseph V. Stalin's belief in Western bad faith.     

Land and Resources in West China and Some Tentative Proposals for Development Strategy

I.The advantages and potentiality of land and - in West China1. West China boasts large amount of land and resources with sufficient reserves ofgreat potential.West China consists of ten Provincial whiz (provinces, autonomous regions and one municipality directly under the central government) and covers an area of 570 million hectares,namely 56. 5% of the national total. The per capita land occupation here is 1. 92 hectares,which is 2. 5 times that of the country's average.A comparison of m…     

The Turbulence in West Asia and North Africa and China’s Response

Some tendencies and characteristics have become increasingly salient from the evolutionary trajectory of the turmoil in West Asia and North Africa region, with various powers embarked on a reshuffling,     

Bringing the East and West Together in Shared Commitment to Multilateralism

We attend this year’s Munich Security Conference at an unusual moment,as my colleagues and I came straight from a battlefront.Under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping,the Chinese government is engaged in a vigorous effort to combat the sudden outbreak of a novel virus.The 1.4 billion Chinese people are united as one in fighting this“war without smoke.”We resolve to protect the city of Wuhan,protect Hubei province,and protect every fellow countryman who is struggling with the virus.And we are determined to fight and win this battle.     

From Natural Mediator to Junior Partner: Perceptions and Self-Perception in West Germany’s Diplomatic Conferences on Africa, 1959–1968

This analysis finds basis largely on the protocols of the three West German diplomatic conferences held in Africa in 1959, 1962, and 1968. It scrutinises the idea, advanced by part of Bonn’s foreign policy élite at the end of the 1950s, that the Federal Republic of Germany had a “special mediatory role” to play between the West and Africa in the age of decolonisation. The Federal Republic played a significant indirect role, especially on the economic side, in keeping Africa tied to the West after the end of colonialism. However, because of its exposed political situation in Europe, it was never in a position to pursue a real mediating effort in Africa’s decolonisation conflicts, therefore limiting its ambitions to that of “junior partner” of the former colonial Powers in the second half of the 1960s.     

The European Union’s trade and investment policy in Asia: new challenges and opportunities in a changing global environment – or: following individual roadmaps

Asia is Europe’s largest trading partner and EU-Asia trade relations have undergone a rapid change since the global financial crisis. On a global scale, the new multilateral trade agreements such as the now stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) involving European Unions’ (EU) major trading partners such as Japan, Singapore and Vietnam also have the potential to change the trade equations. In this paper, we evaluate the new EU trade policy which has been designed to ensure that the EU benefits from the changing global trade scenario and also look at the steps which have been taken by the EU to promote trade relations with its major trading partners in Asia in the predicted ‘Asian century’. We look into the Free Trade Agreements, which are being negotiated with its Asian partners and seek to understand the reasons which have resulted in delays in their signing and negotiations. We evaluate new policies pushed forward by its Asian partners such as the One Belt One Road policy by China and Japan’s policy of securing a large number of trading agreements in the America. Moving ahead, we also shed light on the indirect factors that may influence the success of EU trade negotiations in Asia such as the EU policy on granting China market economy status and the commencement of the ‘Brexit’ process. Lastly, we try to present a list of immediate priorities for EU in Asia, which will ensure that it secures a toehold in trade with the region. All in all, it is shown that the EU has not one and the same approach for all Asian countries but it negotiates flexibly and individually country by country. Because of this “country by country approach” the EU is also not ready to enter into general EU-ASEAN trade negotiations again.