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.     

NGOs as development partners to the corporates: Child football stitchers in Pakistan

Interest in partnerships between international NGOs and the corporate sector is growing as both sectors see their roles changing in response to increasing consumer awareness about social, environmental, and human rights issues. This article presents the case of the partnership between the sports goods industry, The Save the Children Fund (SCF), and various international and local organisations in the district of Sialkot in Pakistan. The author uses this case in order to discuss the important elements of a cross-sectoral partnership, the considerations for the various parties that enter into such partnerships, and the implications of these partnerships with the corporate sector for the future of NGOs and their vision of development.     

‘Does the doormat influence the boot?’: critical thoughts on UK NGOs and international advocacy

Most UK development NGOs engage in advocacy work at the international level in an attempt to reduce the constraints imposed on grassroots development by global economics and the actions of the official aid agencies. Thus far, their record has been disappointing, and this article explores some of the reasons which lie behind the failure of NGOs to fulfil their potential in this field. Four strategic weaknesses are identified: an overall absence of clear strategy, a failure to build strong alliances, a failure to develop alternatives to current orthodoxies, and the dilemma of relations with donors. Each weakness is analysed with reference to practical examples, and appropriate conclusions drawn.     

Analysis: (Big) business as usual. Sustainable development,NGOs and UK arms export policy

The UK government claims to exercise a responsible arms export policy and to be committed to considering sustainable development concerns in arms export licensing. Yet in December 2001, it granted BAe Systems a licence for the sale of a £28 million air-traffic-control system to Tanzania, one of the world's poorest countries. This export failed the conditions of UK export guidelines in three major ways. This article explores why the government ignored its commitments, arguing that the relationship between Labour and the arms industry lies at the heart of UK export policy. A critical analysis of the development agenda shows that the issue is not simply to get the government to stick to its declared commitments, difficult as this is, as the neo-liberal development agenda promoted by the Labour government is itself fundamentally flawed. Assessing the effectiveness of NGO activity on UK arms export issues thus requires an interrogation of their vision of sustainable development as well as their critique of government actions.     

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.     

Teaching Students How to Fail: Simulations as Tools of Explanation

Instead of always teaching students how to succeed—as is the norm in higher education—it might also be useful to teach them about failure. Understanding failure (that is, why actors fail to reach common objectives in inter-group settings) gives students deeper insight into how to resolve global problems, and the conditions under which success can be achieved. This enhances student awareness of complexity in world affairs, including the nature of inter-group relations. Simulations are a good way to teach students about the possibility of failure, and how to learn from it, because they allow students to go through the learning process on their own. In this article I discuss how a simulation I ran on Middle Eastern politics can be used as an example of how to instruct students about failure as much as about success.     

科索沃"独立"折射出国际斗争的深层问题

2008年2月科索沃单方面宣布独立,在欧洲乃至世界范围内引发了一场地缘政治大地震.历史地看,这一事件是一个充满血腥的过程,是西方国家运用军事力量在东方扩张势力范围的结果.它折射出当前国际斗争中诸多深层次问题:大国力量失衡导致地区冲突、世界地缘版图越分越细、西方滥用"民族自决"理论等等.深入分析和研究这些带有规律性的问题对于认识国际政治的本质不无裨益,对于包括中国在内的广大多民族国家加强团结、反对分裂也不无启发.     

地方政府如何推动农业发展：日本Oita市的政策及经验解读

日本是通过宏观政策的引导使农业迅速实现现代化的典型国家。以往对日本农业政策的研究多集中于中央政策方面,本文以日本Oita市为个案,详细解读发达国家地方政府推动现代农业发展的政策举措及发展绩效,并在总结Oita市农业政策成功做法的基础上,得出发达国家成功经验对我国地方政府推动现代农业发展的借鉴意义。