Come Together? Different Pathways to International NGO Centralization

Abstract

The internal structures of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are determined through political processes, yet the growing literature focuses overwhelmingly on their external effects. We explore the factors that shape the choice of NGOs to come together to become INGOs by advancing and testing a series of claims about why and how INGOs centralize their organizational structures. We explicitly draw upon well-established theories of institutional design from the field of international organization (IO), bringing together two previously unconnected literatures. In theory, functional need, the relative power of different actors, the need for legitimacy, and the demands of donors might all shape INGO centralization. The cases of Oxfam and Save the Children, two leading relief and development INGOs, suggest that centralization is shaped by powerful members of NGO families that seek first to maximize their interests and maintain their legitimacy, while also improving their effectiveness.