Not Just Another Book on NGOs

Abstract

Agenda Setting, the UN and NGOs: Gender Violence and Reproductive Rights. By Jutta M. Joachim Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2007. 256 pp., $29.95 (ISBN: 9781589011755). Much has been written about transnational advocacy networks and the global human rights movement, particularly in terms of women's activism at the international level (see, for example, Keck and Sikkink 1998). But only recently have scholars begun to combine this constructivist tradition with rationalist approaches to more fully account for the complex process by which NGOs strategically frame issues to effectively influence global and national policies (Hertel 2006). And this is where Agenda Setting, the UN and NGOs: Gender Violence and Reproductive Rights makes a real contribution. By situating NGO strategies and subsequent activities that pressured the United Nations (UN) to take on crucial initiatives affecting women's rights and reproductive health, Jutta Joachim successfully builds the bridges between subfields and disciplines that are so essential to understanding the complexity of international politics today. Her study draws critical connections between social movement and organizational theory from various political science subfields, and her findings have significant implications not only for international relations, but for history, sociology and women's studies as well. Integrating sound theory with rich historical detail, Joachim sheds light on the conditions under which NGOs are able to frame new issues, seize political opportunities available to them, strategically utilize various resources and ultimately shape the international agenda. Those interested in transnational activism, human rights, international institutions, and dynamics of contemporary social movements today will want to …