NGOs and the Global Order: Theory and Practice

Abstract

The growth in the number and activities of NGOs has not been confined within the boundaries of nation states. In 1993 only 48 NGOs had consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Now, according to Clark et al., tens of thousands of NGOs participate ‘in new ways’ especially in ‘world conference processes’ (Clark et al. in Wilkinson 2005: 295). The creation of the structural adjustment programme review initiative (SAPRI) has led to hundreds of civil society organisations (CSOs) joining with the World Bank in reviewing the impact of its policies (Scholte 2004: 211–33). World membership of international NGOs (INGOs) rose from 148, 501 in 1990 to 255, 432 in 2000 (Anheier et al. 2001: 4–5), and the number and range of, and participation at, global NGO conferences rose rapidly. In 1972 fewer than 300 delegates attended the Stockholm Conference on the Environment. In 1992 1,400 attended the Rio Earth Summit (Clark et al. in Wilkinson 2005: 295) and 130,000 attended the World Social Forum at Mumbai in 2004 (Wainwright in Anheier et al. 2005: 94–115). It is now common for NGOs to hold ‘parallel conferences’ when inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) hold their conferences, with a view to monitoring and lobbying the official bodies (Clark et al. in Wilkinson 2005: 297). It is estimated that there are now over 5,000 world congresses of NGOs every year (Keane 2003: 5).