Influence Of Non-governmental Organizations Research Articles

The Role and Influence of Non-governmental Organisations in the Universal Periodic Review—International Context and Australian Case Study

Abstract Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play an important, albeit limited, role in the United Nations most recent human rights monitoring mechanism, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Drawing on empirical data from an Australian case study and interviews with international stakeholders, the study explores the NGO role and influence in this state-centric, peer review mechanism. Case study findings indicate that recommendations made by NGOs, in particular a coalition of domestic NGOs, correlate closely with many UPR recommendations but that United Nations sources are more influential. This suggests that other United Nation human rights mechanisms complement the UPR, so that NGOs should continue to engage with both these and the UPR.

Time for Change: Aid, NGOs, and Transitional Justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina

This article examines Scandinavian donor practices in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) with regards to post-conflict justice activities. BiH has been a laboratory of reconstruction, peace-building and transitional justice processes since the end of the war in 1995. While issues related to rebuilding and developing war-torn societies and their economies have attracted extensive scholarly attention, the question of international aid practices in transitional justice contexts remains widely understudied. Although the influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in reconciliatory transitional justice work has been growing, the relationship between international donors and local NGOs involved in these projects remains very limited. The objective of this study is to explore why this is the case. This research draws on Scandinavian aid practices in BiH – particularly the cases of Norway and Sweden – as Scandinavian countries are considered norm entrepreneurs not only in world politics but also in the field of development. This research relies on over three-dozen in depth interviews (with government representatives, experts, and activists), donor evaluation reports, and media documents. The article discusses the factors contributing to the reluctance of Scandinavian donors to provide financial assistance to local NGOs engaging in restorative justice processes in BiH.

Exploring the framing power of NGOs in global climate politics

ABSTRACTThe Paris Agreement contains a separate article for loss and damage – an outcome that aligns with a central demand of many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) at COP21. By shifting to a justice framing of loss and damage, NGOs were able to expand their mobilization and, in turn, enhance their influence. While it is not claimed that NGO advocacy was sufficient to produce the outcome, pathways by which issue framing can support increased NGO influence via persuasion and coercion are illustrated. First, the justice frame garnered additional media attention and raised the stakes should states fail to include the issue in the Paris Agreement. Second, the climate justice frame helped forge alliances with vulnerable countries and within civil society that enhanced bargaining. The findings contribute to theory building in NGO politics, connecting framing shifts to important outcomes in the global governance of climate change.

The reputations of NGOs: Peer evaluations of effectiveness

This article explores the reputations of transnational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their determinants. Although the concept of reputation has received extensive treatment in international relations, NGO reputation has received less attention. Yet reputations are critical to the construction of NGO authority and to patterns of collaboration. We develop a framework for studying NGO reputation. We then provide empirical evidence on the construction of a particular dimension of NGO reputation, that of organizational effectiveness from the perspective of NGO peers. Based on a mixed-method, in-depth interview study of transnational NGO leaders, we identify specific factors associated with NGOs’ effectiveness reputations among their peers. Larger, older, more highly visible organizations, organizations adopting hybrid strategies, and organizations headquartered outside of Washington, DC enjoy higher reputations for organizational effectiveness. Our analysis provides context for understanding the influence of transnational NGOs in world affairs and offers insight into the role of reputation in global politics more generally.

Influence of Nongovernmental Organizations on Forming Country Image and Developing the Country Brand Using Public Diplomacy

Country image and nation branding provide a competitive advantage for small and medium-sized enterprises in their internationalization. This paper analyzes the influence of Turkish nongovernmental organizations on forming country image of Turkey and developing the country brand using public diplomacy in the African continent. The published interviews and statements of Turkish and African politicians, business people and intellectuals argue that these organizations are effectively using public diplomacy to create the country brand. This paper focuses on the most active organization, the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) which supports to its members in communicating with their potential customers in several occasions, and having a differentiating statement and a competitive advantage by promoting the brand image of the country. This civil society support is significant, especially for the small and medium enterprises of developing countries, when considered the weak international image and reputation of these countries.

The Influence of South Korean NGOs on State Aid Policy

I examine the experiences of South Korean nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provide aid to North Korea in order to assess the success and limitations of the NGO movement. With reference to the political role of NGOs in constructivist theory, I identify three factors that have hindered the formation of a sustainable partnership between the South Korean government and NGOs since the inter-Korean summit of 2000. First, South Korean NGOs have lacked consistent efforts toward transparency and accountability in operations and organizational management. Second, the great increase in inter-Korean cooperation and exchange after 2000 weakened the research, education, and advocacy function of NGOs. Third, aid NGOs failed to establish independent, diversified, and stable funding mechanisms, decreasing their capacity to act as cooperative partners of the government.

Embodying the Modern: Neoliberalism, NGOs, and the Culture of Human Rights Practices in Nigeria

IntroductionThis article is my attempt to unravel the growing influence of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in Nigeria. There are two important elements in mapping NGOs in Nigeria today. First, the culture of NGO is emblematic of the ways in which neoliberal economic and political reforms in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, change the face of the state, thereby creating a new space that prioritizes NGOs as a better alternative to the state. Second, by creating new spaces for NGOs to thrive, neoliberalism incorporates NGO leaders into the class of elitism. Politics is and continues to be considered the domain of elite politicians who have been in control of the political process in postcolonial Africa. NGO leaders have historically seen these politicians as standing in the way of economic and political development of Africa and Nigeria. Unfortunately, this disdain for political leaders has led NGO practitioners, who are now a part of the new elite class, to present themselves as non-political and non-partisan. This decision leaves political participation and contests for elections in the hands of the elite politicians NGO leaders oppose. Such decisions by NGO leaders ignore the possibility of using their new elite status as a mechanism for real change.The combination of these two elements has continually produced outcomes such as economic and political deprivation for many citizens in ways that have promoted NGOs and CSOs (civil society organizations) to the status of rescue organizations. One such outcome is that NGOs have become one of the fastest growing industries in Nigeria. They cater to the needs of thousands of unemployed youths by employing them in such as periodic election monitoring or regular reporting of human rights violations to the transnational networks of human rights organizations in the global north.Illustrative of these are the activities of CLEEN Foundation (formerly known as Center for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria), and CISLAC (Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center). Both CLEEN and CISLAC emerged in Nigeria as a result of promotion of neoliberal economic and political in the post-Cold War era by international financial institutions (e.g., the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Paris and London Clubs). While these two organizations are not alone in promoting this particular set of practices, mapping the political trajectory of its leaders provides a clear understanding of how neoliberalism promotes apolitical CSOs in ways that create new sites of power.This article also examines the emergence of NGOs in Nigeria through the location of their proliferation within a transnational economy shaped by the dominant international capitalist system. This system privileges the idea that a free market economy is deductively inscribed in the freedom of citizens, but the citizens' ability to actively participate in the affairs of the nation-state is inhibited by state (such as the violation of human rights, illegal detention, and the denial of access to land, livelihood, and resources) that negate neoliberal practices. This idea further suggests that private ownership of capital should trump the public good. Central to this idea is the notion that the state-already seen as oppressive and a locus of rights violations-does not have the capacity to mold citizens. In contrast, CSOs and NGOs are considered to be important in the construction of a new society that embodies modern ideas about participation, respect for human rights, and the molding of good citizenship. I examine what I call the rearticulation of praxis and reordering of practices by looking at the changing meaning of CSOs and NGOs in most academic literature, and suggest that there is a need to focus on how the particularities of Nigeria dictate how CSOs and NGOs shape practices.Finally, I look at the work of CLEEN and CISLAC to show how they have reshaped national discourses about power and social inequalities in ways that feed into neoliberal discourses of power and social structures. …

Gender and Power

In a patriarchal society like India, women remain more vulnerable towards human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In order to control HIV among women, the powerlessness of women needs to be understood in the broader sociocultural context. It is hypothesized that due to less knowledge and their socio-economic status, women are refrained from exercising reproductive and sexual rights, and thus remain powerless. Such powerlessness could significantly increase women’s vulnerability towards HIV. The study was carried out in Karnataka and West Bengal, India, and 200 HIV-positive women were selected as the sample for the study. It was found that a majority of women lacked awareness regarding rights relating to reproductive and sexual life, and faced forceful and violent sex within their marital life. Powerless existence indeed made females vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Even after HIV, their condition of vulnerability continued as in a large number of the cases they remained powerless and submissive and only a few respondents could exercise their reproductive rights. Those who realized and exercised their agency were able to do so due to self-realization through the influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and counselling. In a majority of cases, respondents’ social role had hardly undergone any change, and many respondents performed more of a sacrificing role and also neglected their own health.

NGO Influence in International Organizations: Information, Access and Exchange

While there is broad consensus that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) sometimes succeed in influencing policy making within international organizations (IOs), there is much less agreement on the factors that make NGO lobbying effective. This article makes two contributions to this debate. First, the determinants of influence among NGOs active in different IOs, issue areas and policy phases are examined. The analysis builds on original survey data of more than 400 NGOs involved in five different IOs, complemented by elite interviews with IO and state officials. Secondly, the article advances a specific argument about how the strategic exchange of information and access between NGOs and IOs increases NGO influence in IOs. This argument, derived from theories of lobbying in American and European politics, is contrasted with three alternative explanations of NGO influence, privileging material resources, transnational networks and public opinion mobilization, and the broader implications of these results for research on NGOs in global governance are explored.

An exploration of the political economy dynamics shaping health worker incentives in three districts in Sierra Leone

The need for evidence-based practice calls for research focussing not only on the effectiveness of interventions and their translation into policies, but also on implementation processes and the factors influencing them, in particular for complex health system policies. In this paper, we use the lens of one of the health system's ‘building blocks’, human resources for health (HRH), to examine the implementation of official policies on HRH incentives and the emergence of informal practices in three districts of Sierra Leone. Our mixed-methods research draws mostly from 18 key informant interviews at district level. Data are organised using a political economy framework which focuses on the dynamic interactions between structure (context, historical legacies, institutions) and agency (actors, agendas, power relations) to show how these elements affect the HRH incentive practices in each district. It appears that the official policies are re-shaped both by implementation challenges and by informal practices emerging at local level as the result of the district-level dynamics and negotiations between District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Emerging informal practices take the form of selective supervision, salary supplementations and per diems paid to health workers, and aim to ensure a better fit between the actors' agendas and the incentive package. Importantly, the negotiations which shape such practices are characterised by a substantial asymmetry of power between DHMTs and NGOs. In conclusion, our findings reveal the influence of NGOs on the HRH incentive package and highlight the need to empower DHMTs to limit the discrepancy between policies defined at central level and practices in the districts, and to reduce inequalities in health worker remuneration across districts. For Sierra Leone, these findings are now more relevant than ever as new players enter the stage at district level, as part of the Ebola response and post-Ebola reconstruction.

Growing in value: NGOs, social movements and the cultivation of developmental value chains in Uttarakhand, India

AbstractThe social consequences of global value chains – including their effects on economic development – are shaped, in part, by non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and social movement organizations (SMOs). While scholars have extensively explored the causes and effects of downstream corporate social responsibility, we know little about the influence of upstream NGOs and SMOs in shaping value chains. To address this lacuna, I draw on a case study of rural development organizations in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. I find that these groups build marginal producers’ organizational and technical capacity, assist producers in meeting certification standards, and work to cultivate alternative value chain segments, both local and global. Results suggest that NGOs and SMOs help marginal producers to engage more profitably with corporate value chains, even as they simultaneously pursue strategies that are more contentious and that aim to create deeper structural change.

Wildlife NGOs and the CMS Family: Untapped Potential for Collaborative Governance

Although the influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on domestic environmental policy traces back more than a century in the United States, Europe, and Australasia, NGOs have come into th...

Emerging Geographies of Conservation and Indigenous Land in Australia

ABSTRACTInternational examples of interactions between Indigenous peoples and the new conservation paradigm come mainly from developing countries and suggest divisions over priorities. As a Western settler society, Australia is at a critical time in conservation and Indigenous peoples' rights. Innovative approaches to conservation are promoted. The role and influence of non-governmental organisations is increasing. Indigenous peoples' rights to land are recognised and Indigenous involvement in conservation is growing. Yet, despite Australia being considered a leader in these arenas, particularly the latter, there has been little analysis of the relationship between innovative approaches to conservation and Indigenous Australians under the new paradigm. This paper describes how the spatial manifestations of approaches under the new conservation paradigm and Indigenous land in Australia are creating new geographies. We identify geographies of overlap, dichotomy and absence. The paper identifies research needs into these geographies, including: examining the influence of ‘recognition’ in engagements between conservation and Indigenous Australians; investigating the impacts of approaches under the new paradigm such as scaling-up, territorialism and differing governance structures on Indigenous Australians; and questioning the social responsibilities of the non-governmental organisations towards Indigenous Australians.

Branding in NGOs – its Influence on the Intention to Donate

ABSTRACT. The creation of a has been identified as a differentiating factor for Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) when it comes to competing for private and public funding, as well as when trying to recruit volunteers. Due to the importance of these human and financial resources for the survival of many NGOs, our purpose is to analyse the influence of NGOs' image on raising money and time. A sample of 654 individuals, which answered a questionnaire, was used to test a structural equation model. Results show that image contributes to the extent that people intend to give money to NGOs, as well as the typicality of the and the past donation behaviour. Past donation behaviour is the only variable that influences the intention to give time by volunteering with a NGO. Thus it is very important to facilitate the process of making donations in order to satisfy the donor and convince him/her to repeat the behaviour.JEL Classification: M310Keywords:, donation, NGO, branding, image, awareness.IntroductionThird Sector has a relevant role in the provision of vital social services in areas such as health, social support and education (Chen, 2009; Frumkin and Kim, 2001), having experienced a considerable growth in the last decades, with the situation even more notorious nowadays in these times of economic and social crisis. Traditionally, this sector is mainly financed by public funds (Salamon, Sokolowsky, Haddock and Tice, 2012), but due to the reduction in State support (Besel, Williams and Klak, 2011) and business donations (Faircloth, 2005), together with the growth of the number of non-profit organisations, there has been increased competition inside the sector for both public and private funding (Bendapudi, Singh and Bendapudi, 1996; Frumkin and Kim, 2001). The level of donations has been declining in some countries, and particularly in Portugal, in which the transfers from the private sector (including private philanthropy, membership dues, corporate gifts, and other similar payments to non-profit organisations) account just for 10% of non-profit organisations' revenue (Salamon et al., 2012).All these circumstances have issued Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with an enormous challenge - the need to move from an amateur approach to a more professional system of management (Helmig, Jegers and Lapsley, 2004). This challenge is particularly significant as far as fundraising is concerned (Benjamin, 2010). At the same time, given the volume of resources involved, better information to help in the donor decision process is necessary (Chen, 2009).Simultaneously, some managers of NGOs began to recognise the potential contribution that marketing could bring to their organisations (Kotler, 1979). This new scenario brought deep changes to the attitudes and responsibilities of leaders of non-profit organisations, who have started to introduce marketing management practices into their institutions, directing them into new competitive areas, where the management can make a fundamental difference (Naddaff, 2004).The focus of this study is precisely the branding, with the term brand being understood as the set of perceptions formed about an organisation, company or product, based on all communications, actions and interactions. The is linked to the organisation's reputation, identity and image, in the eyes of stakeholders and the community. Thus, a strong can be a valuable asset for NGOs (Daw, Cone, Merenda and Erhard, 2010). Note that in the present research the term brand is used to apply to the organisation itself (instead of its products/services), which conducts us to the scope of corporate branding and corporate image. In the non-profit context, an organisation's corporate image provides potential donors with important guarantees concerning the organisation's efficiency, level of familiarity, and credibility.Given the rise in the number of non-profit organisations, and the increase in competition for donations, the has become a crucial factor of differentiation, since the more favourable the image is, the greater the potential for number of donations (Michel and Rieunier, 2012). …

How NGOs Influence US Foreign Aid Allocations

This paper is designed to understand the relationship between states and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), especially foreign aid policy and the field activities of NGOs. In this study, I argue that NGOs influence states’ foreign aid policy behaviors toward other states directly, functioning as information providers and lobbying groups. By applying theoretical arguments to the field of international development, the influence of NGOs on states’ decisions about foreign aid is analyzed with the case of the United States. A new time-series cross-sectional data set of the activities of US-based NGOs in developing countries is constructed. This study shows that as the number of US-based NGO field operations in developing countries increases, that country is significantly more likely to receive higher amounts of aid from the United States. NGOs that have longer operations in developing countries are also more effective at lobbying the United States to provide more foreign aid.

Udział organizacji pozarządowych w postępowaniu przed Trybunałem Konstytucyjnym

The paper treats about law frames regulating the participation of non-governmental organization (with its doctrinal name amicus curiae) in Polish Constitutional Tribunal. It indicates not only the rules being fundaments of NGOs’ contribution in the trial, but also presents real situations when non-governmental organizations raised their voices concerning the cases analyzed by the Constitutional Tribunal. The great worth of NGOs’ input in the Constitutional Tribunal proceedings is based on knowledge and experience of experts working for such organizations and their responsiveness for social problems as well. What is important, authors mainly aim at describing the role that amici curiae play in the human rights protection system. The data presented in the essay unambiguously shows the real influence of non-governmental organizations’ involvement on the Constitutional Tribunal’s conclusions phrased in the process of consideration upon the case.

Who survived? Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs

ABSTRACTHow do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? Because many NGOs advocate liberal causes, such as human rights, democracy, and gender equality, they upset the political status quo. At the same time, a large number of NGOs operating in the Global South rely on international funding. This sometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation of sham or ‘briefcase’ NGOs. Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenient NGO sector, governments exploit the role of international funding and make the case for restricting the influence of NGOs that serve as foreign agents. To pursue this objective, states worldwide are enacting laws to restrict NGOs’ access to foreign funding. We examine this regulatory offensive through an Ethiopian case study, where recent legislation prohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitive issues. We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups in Ethiopia have disappeared, while survivors have either ‘rebranded’ or switched their work from proscribed areas. This research note highlights how governments can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector. Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims of grassroots support, a reliance on external funding makes them politically vulnerable. Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as the key component of NGOs’ institutional environment.

Nongovernmental organizations and genetically modified crops in Kenya: Understanding influence within a techno-civil society

Genetically modified (GM) crops in Kenya are situated in a highly networked and transnational environment, where technical decisions are tied to livelihoods, politics and culture. Within that environment, certain nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been extremely influential, driving local decisions about whether and how GM crops will be adopted, and creating a technocratic policy environment. Building on interdisciplinary frameworks that connect agency with place and identity, I argue that NGO influence stems from the creation and management of organizational identities that link two powerful ideologies: the notion that the advancement of technology is tightly coupled to societal progress, and the view that a strong civil society is necessary for an informed and representative democracy. Utilizing ethnographic data, the concept of techno-civil society is presented as a means to understand the merger of these two ideologies as NGOs negotiate their identities and frame their role in deciding Kenya’s future with GM crops. Especially during key regulatory and technological developments in 2004–2005, the creation of a techno-civil society helped produce a scientized decision-making system that was closed and polarized. Acknowledging, and not essentializing, the normative dimensions of civil society and the values associated with technological pathways may help de-polarize debates about GM crops in developing countries.

Transnational actors in environmental politics: strategies and influence in long negotiations

For scholars of global environmental politics, transnational actors are a central focus, and many ascribe significant influence to them. However, it is not always clear how their influence is felt or what strategies are most effective. Most studies that do consider these issues focus on the influence of either environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or business groups on one international outcome. Very few studies analyse these actors together. This limits the generalisability of conclusions. Remarkably, almost none of this work has considered the influence of these actors and the strategies they could employ in prolonged environmental negotiations that last many years or decades. Drawing on a rich empirical data set from the international climate negotiations, both are addressed. How the influence of transnational environmental NGOs and business groups is felt in long negotiations is considered, and three strategies are identified that these actors can use to influence not only state behaviour but each other as well.

Environmental diplomacy: comparing the influence of business and environmental NGOs in negotiations on reform of the clean development mechanism

Although case studies exist of the influence of non-governmental organisations in international environmental negotiations, theoretical conclusions remain scattered, and the separation in previous literature between the study of environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) and business and industry non-governmental organisations (BINGOs) reduces the generalisability of conclusions. The conclusions drawn in both fields are brought together and the resulting explanatory framework is applied to empirical material from the negotiations on reform of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, comparing the influence of environmental non-governmental organisations and business and industry non-governmental organisations. The explanatory factors identified in previous research generally play out in favour of BINGOs as compared to ENGOs. The structural influence of business and industry non-governmental organisations seems to have resulted in a larger influence on the outcome of the negotiations, which may be problematic from a democratic point of view as private economic interests and public interests frequently diverge.