Reflections on relationships: the nature of partnership according to five NGOs in southern Mexico

This article is based on interviews with several staff members of NGOs located in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, regarding partnerships between them and their funding sources, such as foundations or agencies of the North that do or support development work in the South. The motive behind the interviews was an interest in the word ‘partnerships’, in particular strategic ones. Do partnerships exist now and, if they do, what does it mean for the NGOs to have a partnership with a funding source? The general conclusion was that strategic partnerships have indeed existed in the past, and may again emerge in the future, but that currently they exist only sporadically, given the distinct ways of viewing and carrying out development work within NGOs on the one hand, and foundations or agencies on the other.     

Ethnicity and participatory development methods in Botswana: Some participants are to be seen and not heard

Participatory methods are increasingly being used in development work at grassroots level in Africa. Western liberal concepts like 'one person one vote' underlie these methods. However, such concepts may not be easily compatible with a grassroots reality in which ethnicity (i.e. superior and subordinate ethnic identities) is an important factor shaping the social order. This article provides insights into the socio-political realities of ethnicity at village level in Botswana. The tension between participatory methods and the ethnically structured village reality are illustrated with examples from a project that tested the relevance of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in Botswana. The authors identify problems and opportunities of participatory methods in addressing the inequalities in ethnically divided communities.     

The United Republic of Tanzania:The National Policy on Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs)

<正>NOVEMBER 2001 1.0INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction1.1.1 Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] are increasingly being recognized by government as potent forces for social and economic development;     

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.     

NGOs and advocacy: How well are the poor represented?

There is a widespread perception that Southern non-governmental organizations (NGOs) best represent the authentic voices of the Southern poor. This article challenges this perception, arguing that poor people in general, and children and women in particular, continue to be disenfranchised, while NGOs-both Northern and Southern-offer a poor imitation of their voices. It argues that what is needed, given the current global economic paradigm, is an authentic 'joint venture' between NGOs in the North and the South and the authentic voices of poor people themselves, that would bring the poor into the mainstream; and a new approach to capacity-building that would seek to empower them better to advocate for themselves. It concludes that, to achieve this, economic advocacy should perhaps take greater precedence over political advocacy.     

Hegemony, not anarchy: why China and Japan are not balancing US unipolar power

The United States today dominates the globe and many regionalgeographical subsystems in an unprecedented way, maintaininga hegemonic order that is in no way similar to the ‘anarchy’assumed in realist analyses. The global system today is notsimply unipolar; it is a hegemonic system that is increasinglyglobalized, in which the basic concepts of realism (anarchy,self-help and power balancing) provide little guidance or understandingin explaining state behavior. This paper describes the US hegemonicsystem, analyzes the roles of China and Japan within this system,and examines how the Bush administration's plans for missiledefense might transform the system. The conclusion points tosome critical implications from this analysis for realist interpretationsof international politics.     

Mainstreaming disaster mitigation: Challenges to organisational learning in NGOs

This paper discusses the implications for organisational learning of recent research on NGO activity in natural disaster mitigation and preparedness. It identifies several institutional and other barriers to NGO learning. However, personal networks in NGOs are often strong, and determined and well-placed individuals can push significant innovations through. Greater emphasis on this human factor may be the key to mainstreaming disaster mitigation and other new or marginal approaches to development.     

Social capital,NGOs, and development: a Guatemalan case study

Social researchers continue to grasp for critical factors that foster or impede the development of social capital. This article highlights some of these factors based on an investigation of a low‐income urban settlement in Guatemala. Community activists and leaders, elected representatives, regional government service providers, local residents, NGO directors and staff, and other key informants living and working within the designated locality indicated a complex and diverse range of social, cultural, political, and economic issues that contributed to low levels of ‘broad‐based’ social capital. Long‐standing fears related to violence and corruption within a historically top‐down authoritarian state were the most significant factors impeding social capital, social organising, and civic participation. Northern‐led service‐providing NGOs in the area also curbed ‘broad‐based’ social capital by fostering dependency through intervention strategies that were external, top down, non‐participatory, and not community based.     

NGOs and post-violence community development: holistic,multi-track ventures in Afghanistan

This article explores the interview narratives of six NGO directors working in Afghanistan regarding the holistic and multi-track nature of their NGO's project work. Data analysis revealed that NGO leaders believed that effective NGO project work relies extensively on purposeful coordination with other NGOs, and is dependent on non-NGO actors such as the military, the UN, local government structures, and local organisations. However, working in proximity with international military forces posed special challenges for NGOs in Afghanistan. While validating the military's security work, NGO leaders believed it necessary to assert their independence from security operations, and military reconstruction and development work.

Les ONG et le développement communautaire post-violence : initiatives holistiques et à pistes multiples en Afghanistan

Cet article examine les comptes rendus donnés lors d'entretiens par six directeurs d'ONG qui travaillent en Afghanistan sur la nature holistique et à pistes multiples des travaux entrepris par leurs ONG respectives dans le cadre de projets. L'analyse des données a révélé que les leaders des ONG pensent que les travaux de projet des ONG dépendent considérablement d'une coordination délibérée avec d'autres ONG, et qu'ils sont par ailleurs tributaires d'acteurs autres que des ONG comme l'armée, l'ONU, les structures gouvernementales locales et les organisations locales. Cependant, le fait de travailler à proximité des forces militaires internationales pose des défis spéciaux pour les ONG en Afghanistan. Tout en validant les travaux en matière de sécurité menés par l'armée, les leaders des ONG pensent qu'il est nécessaire d'affirmer leur indépendance des opérations de sécurité, et des travaux de reconstruction et de développement menés par l'armée.

ONGs e desenvolvimento da comunidade após violência: Iniciativas holísticas e multifacetadas no Afeganistão

Este artigo explora as narrativas de entrevista de seis diretores de ONG trabalhando no Afeganistão, tendo em vista a natureza holística e multifacetada de seu trabalho de projeto de ONG. A análise dos dados revelou que os líderes de ONG acreditavam que um trabalho de projeto de ONG efetivo depende extensivamente de coordenação orientada com outras ONGs e depende de agentes que não sejam ONGs, tais como militares, ONU, estruturas governamentais locais e organizaç?es locais. Contudo, trabalhar de maneira próxima com forças militares internacionais impˇesafios especiais para as ONGs no Afeganistão. Embora validando o trabalho de segurança dos militares, líderes de ONGs acreditam que é necessário garantir a independõia deles das operaç?es de segurança e a reconstrução militar e o trabalho de desenvolvimento.

Las ONG y el desarrollo comunitario tras la violencia: experiencias integrales en múltiples frentes en Afganistán

Este ensayo analiza las entrevistas a seis directores de ONG de Afganistán relacionadas con la naturaleza integral y diversificada del trabajo en proyectos de las ONG. Las entrevistas revelan que los directores de las ONG creen que la eficiencia de sus proyectos depende en gran parte de la buena coordinación con otras ONG y con otros actores como el ejército, la ONU, las oficinas locales de gobierno y las organizaciones locales. Sin embargo, se presentaron retos especiales para las ONG por su trabajo con las fuerzas militares internacionales. Si bien los directores de las ONG aceptan el trabajo de los militares en tareas de seguridad, también insisten en reafirmar su autonomía frente a las operaciones de seguridad y al trabajo militar en reconstrucción y desarrollo.     

Wiki and the Agora: ‘It's organising,Jim, but not as we know it’

This article argues that those keen to characterise and harness the empowering potential of Information and Communications Technology [ICT] for development projects must understand that the very existence of this technology opens up alternative models of co-operation and collaboration. These models themselves necessitate breaking away from ‘traditional’ command-and-control models of management. One alternative is to persuade participants, or potential participants, to co-ordinate their efforts along the lines exemplified by the open-source software movement and the contributors to Wikipedia: models of co-ordination that ought not to work but appear to do so. The article offers a summary of this argument, and then suggests ways in which NGOs in particular might try to incorporate these insights into their strategies. This is particularly critical for organisations that rely on increasingly pressurised funding opportunities, and which also seek to develop and engender participation and determination from within and among specific target groupings.     

Structures,values, and interaction in field-level partnerships: the case of UNHCR and NGOs

This article discusses the process of transforming partnership from a conceptual framework into a practical, operational framework for field-level interaction among humanitarian organisations. The authors approach this transformation from the perspective of the core values of the partnership concept and the ability of field workers to behave in ways that are consistent with these core values, illustrated by an empirical study of the relationships between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs in a refugee-assistance programme in northern Uganda. The authors connect inter-organisational structures with the role of people charged with making partnership work, concluding that the structures and context in which individuals operate make it impossible for them to ‘act out’ the core values of partnership. By identifying the major challenges to creating field-level, operational partnerships, the authors offer lessons for current and future partnership-building initiatives, such as the Global Humanitarian Platform.     

印尼：政局趋向稳定，经济复苏缓慢

一、印尼政局趋向稳定 ,巴厘岛爆炸案震惊世界１.梅加瓦蒂巩固了政权 ,加强了民族团结和国家统一２００１年７月 ,梅加瓦蒂取代瓦希德当选为印尼第五任总统 ,成立互助合作内阁 ,制定了六项施政纲领 :１．维护国家统一和民族团结 ;２．继续实行改革和推进民主化 ;３．复苏经济并打好基础 ;４．树立法治 ,恢复社会生活 ,实现安定团结 ,消灭贪污腐败 ;５．实行独立、积极的外交政策 ,恢复国家和民族的国际威望 ;６．筹备２００４年大选 ①。从新政府的执政业绩来看 ,一些政纲基本实现了 ,另一些则难以执行。２００２年梅加瓦蒂政府在国家统一和…     

Good News! You may be out of a job reflections on the past and future 50: Years for Northern NGOs

After 50 years of spectacularly successful work (particularly in raising the equity stakes, improving the quality of overseas development aid, fostering Southern NGO work at the international level and organising quick and effective humanitarian assistance), Northern development NGOs have come to a crossroads. The author argues that the history of the NGO 'occupational category', coupled with a changing political and economic environment (the end of the Cold War, rising international investment, declining overseas development aid, and vastly heightened Southern NGO capacity), means that most Northern NGOs should close up shop. Instead, a kaleidoscopic rebirth is envisaged, where four key functions remain for Northerners--as humanitarian agents, economic policy watchers, North-South brokers, and corporate responsibility advocates. This change of job is heralded as good news: evidence that the project of global social justice has moved dramatically forwards.     

Veterinary services in the Horn of Africa: where are we now?

Pastoralists are marginalised in the Horn of Africa and receive inadequate veterinary services. Under economic structural adjustment programmes, public veterinary services became increasingly ineffective and, in response, community-based NGO programmes were established in some pastoral areas. While these programmes were often considered to be effective, with few exceptions they were small in scale, isolated from central government, and based on subsidised systems of drug distribution. Consequently, their sustainability was questionable. Governments now have incentives to improve veterinary services to pastoralists because of new possibilities for increasing livestock exports alongside new concerns about protecting consumers from livestock-related diseases. Current policy and institutional reform is encouraging a greater role for the private sector in service delivery but this is developing slowly, particularly in pastoral areas where future provision is likely to involve public–private partnerships.