Hans Peter Schmitz | North Carolina State University (original) (raw)
Articles by Hans Peter Schmitz
International Studies Review, 2022
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) ... more A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to "decolonize" their practices, to "shift the power" to the Global South, and to put an end to "white saviorism" by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs' ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs' struggles to adapt in response to their critics are the result of TNGOs' "nonprofitness." By virtue of being nonprofit, TNGOs are embedded in an architecture consisting of forms and norms that inherently limit the extent to which they are able to change. Using the construct of the architecture, this article provides a novel account for the challenges that TNGOs confront as they attempt to close the gap between the rhetoric and reality of inclusive and transformational socioeconomic, political, or environmental change.
Voluntas, 2021
A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA... more A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to employ both techniques iteratively to capture often implicit ideas and meaning-making by third-sector leaders, donors, and other stakeholders. CAQDAS facilitates the coding, organization, and quantification of qualitative data, effectively creating parallel qualitative and quantitative data structures. LCA facilities the discovery of latent concepts, document classification, and the identification of exemplary qualitative evidence to aid interpretation. For third-sector research, CAQDAS and LCA are particularly promising because diverse stakeholders usually do not share homogenous views about core issues such as organizational effectiveness, collaboration, impact measurement, or philanthropic approaches, for example. The procedure explained here provides a rigorous method for discovering and understanding diversity in perspectives and is especially useful in medium-n research settings common to third-sector scholarship.
Voluntas, 2021
This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitt... more This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitted by 187 of 209 signatories of the Giving Pledge. The philanthropy of the wealthy is gaining increasing public attention and is subject to growing criticism, which demands additional study of how the wealthy collectively explain their generosity. The mixed-method analysis finds a strong emphasis on education and health causes and identifies two distinct and coherent rationales for being generous. The majority of letters express a social–normative rationale, consisting of two prevailing explanations: an expressed gratitude and desire to ‘‘give back’’ (1) and references to family upbringing as a socializing force (2). A minority of letters articulate a personal–consequentialist rationale, highlighting three separate explanations: a large inheritance may harm offspring (1), giving as personal gratification (2), and an acknowledgment of excess wealth with no better use (3). An expressed desire to have impact and make a difference appears in both rationales. The overall dominance of a social–normative rationale projects a discourse emphasizing benevolence as well as a narrative in which billionaires are an exceptionally productive and grateful subset of society. While previous studies have primarily focused on identifying individual psychological motives, this study shows how the Giving Pledge letters reflect a philanthropic discourse among the wealthy going back to Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth.
Society, 2021
Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods acr... more Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods across the world. One of the most prominent recent expressions of these efforts is the Giving Pledge, created in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates in collaboration with Warren Buffett. After a decade of its existence, this analysis of the Giving Pledge population and its commitment letters shows an overall dominance of white, male, and US-based billionaires among the signatories. Tech billionaires are a wealthier and younger subgroup of pledgers than their counterparts in other industries. The pledge letters reveal an emphasis on education and health as dominant philanthropic causes. Among explanations for giving, the four most frequent reasons mentioned are a desire to make a difference, a wish to give back, a sense of personal fulfillment resulting from giving, and references to being socialized into philanthropic giving early in life. While the Giving Pledge is the most prominent global effort to increase philanthropic giving among the wealthy, the voluntary nature and relatively modest commitment goal make it difficult to assess its significance and impact.
E-International Relations, 2020
Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their... more Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their legitimacy. For many critics, they no longer do what their original purpose was. This essay explores a growing gap between the ambitions of INGOs and public perceptions of the sector.
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 2020
Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Inter... more Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies are less comfortable than digital natives to cede substantial control over campaigns to their supporters. At the same time, legacy NGOs and digital natives acknowledge similar challenges with regard to enhancing the civic agency of their supporters. Digital natives are more open to online feedback and supporter-led actions, while both types of organizations report similar challenges in utilizing digital tools for sustained and long-term organizing.
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 2019
Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Inter... more Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies are less comfortable than digital natives to cede substantial control over campaigns to their supporters. At the same time, legacy NGOs and digital natives acknowledge similar challenges with regard to enhancing the civic agency of their supporters. Digital natives are more open to online feedback and supporter-led actions, while both types of organizations report similar challenges in utilizing digital tools for sustained and long-term organizing.
International Studies Quarterly, 2020
International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling no... more International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused on elite networks across NGOs, states, and international organizations. This article considers how digital technologies generate new types of networked power between NGOs and their members. Digital tools allow for fast feedback from supporters, rapid surges in mobilization, and more decentralized campaigns. Importantly, in the digital era, NGOs must decide not only which digital platforms to use, but also whether to devolve decision-making to their supporters. Two questions arise: First, do NGO staff or supporters primarily define and produce advocacy content? Second, is the goal of digital activism to broaden or intensify participation? Answers to these questions generate four digital strategies: proselytizing, testing, conversing, and facilitating. These strategies change advocacy practices, but only facilitating strategies open up new forms of networked power based on supporter-to-supporter connections. Digital strategies have profound ramifications for individual organizations, the nature of the advocacy sector, and its power in relation to states, corporations, and other nonstate actors. Digital adoption patterns shape how NGOs choose campaigns, how they legitimate their claims, and what strategies they rely on.
Do Executives Approach Leadership Differently When They Are Involved in Collaborative Partnerships? A Perspective from International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs), 2018
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’ own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing & outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications for both nonprofit and public management.
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations
(INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their
own organization and the external environment. Frequently,
these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting
or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is
extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’
own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws
on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with
senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions
are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be
important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view
these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not
they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results
show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant
across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in
collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with
regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships
are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership
and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in
partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of
leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing &
outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible
causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications
for both nonprofit and public management.
Public Performance & Management Review, 2019
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’ own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing & outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications for both nonprofit and public management.
Public Performance & Management Review, 2019
The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced convergence over ... more The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced
convergence over the past decades, particularly as academic programs, conferences, and journals in public administration have increasingly embraced nonprofit management. Given the significance of this development, the lack of a formal theoretical basis for
convergence is surprising and potentially problematic. This article attempts to formalize such a basis by expositing the shared constitutive features of public and nonprofit management. These features include social goods provision, outcome ambiguity, delegation, and surplus nondistribution. Analysis of these features—and consideration of alternative explanations—demonstrates that a consolidated field of “public and nonprofit management” may be warranted by definite theoretical principles. The existence of this theoretical basis may provide stakeholders with opportunities to approach and manage the process of convergence more strategically.
Public Administration Review, 2016
The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the pro... more The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the problem of sustainable development is among the most pressing public administration challenges. As principal actors within the international development community, transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a leading role in piloting a wide variety of development-focused strategies. During the past decade, many of these transnational NGOs, along with the United Nations, have embraced a rights-based approach (RBA) to development as an alternative to
traditional service delivery. Despite the growing popularity of RBA among NGOs and other development actors, surprisingly little attention has been paid to understanding the significance of RBA for public administration and for public managers—the “other side of the coin.” Drawing on current research in NGO studies and international development, this article describes several varieties of contemporary rights-based approaches, analyzes their impact on development practices, and examines the intersection of RBA and public administration.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent ... more Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent in low-and middle-income countries than for others. One reason may be differences in the effectiveness of global health networks, which have proliferated in recent years. Some may be more capable than others in attracting attention to a condition, in generating funding, in developing interventions and in convincing national governments to adopt policies. This article introduces a supplement on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. The supplement examines networks concerned with six global health problems: tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality and newborn deaths. This article presents a conceptual framework delineating factors that may shape why networks crystallize more easily surrounding some issues than others, and once formed, why some are better able than others to shape policy and public health outcomes. All supplement papers draw on this framework. The framework consists of 10 factors in three categories: (1) features of the networks and actors that comprise them, including leadership, governance arrangements, network composition and framing strategies; (2) conditions in the global policy environment, including potential allies and opponents, funding availability and global expectations concerning which issues should be prioritized; (3) and characteristics of the issue, including severity, tractability and affected groups. The article also explains the design of the project, which is grounded in comparison of networks surrounding three matched issues: TB and pneumonia, tobacco use and alcohol harm, and maternal and newborn survival. Despite similar burden and issue characteristics, there has been considerably greater policy traction for the first in each pair. The supplement articles aim to explain the role of networks in shaping these differences, and collectively represent the first comparative effort to understand the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. Global health networks—webs of individuals and organizations linked by a shared concern for a health condition—now exist for most high-burden health problems that low-and middle-income countries face. However, scholars have paid them scant attention, so we know little about their origins and the influence they have in global health.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is th... more Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings from a research project on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks addressing tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although networks are only one of many factors influencing priority, they do matter, particularly for shaping the way the problem and solutions are understood, and convincing governments, international organizations and other global actors to address the issue. Their national-level effects vary by issue and are more difficult to ascertain. Networks are most likely to produce effects when (1) their members construct a compelling framing of the issue, one that includes a shared understanding of the problem, a consensus on solutions and convincing reasons to act and (2) they build a political coalition that includes individuals and organizations beyond their traditional base in the health sector, a task that demands engagement in the politics of the issue, not just its technical aspects. Maintaining a focused frame and sustaining a broad coalition are often in tension: effective networks find ways to balance the two challenges. The emergence and effectiveness of a network are shaped both by its members’ decisions and by contextual factors, including historical influences (e.g. prior failed attempts to address the problem), features of the policy environment (e.g. global development goals) and characteristics of the issue the network addresses (e.g. its mortality burden). Their proliferation raises the issue of their legitimacy. Reasons to consider them legitimate include their members’ expertise and the attention they bring to neglected issues. Reasons to question their legitimacy include their largely elite composition and the fragmentation they bring to global health governance.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunic... more Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Both issues have gained increased international attention, but tobacco control has made more sustained progress in terms of international and domestic policy commitments, resources dedicated to reducing harm, and reduction of tobacco use in many high-income countries. The research presented here offers insights into why risk factors with comparable levels of harm experience different trajectories of global attention. The analysis focuses particular attention on the role of dedicated global health networks composed of individuals and organizations producing research and engaging in advocacy on a given health problem. Variation in issue characteristics and the policy environment shape the opportunities and challenges of global health networks focused on reducing the burden of disease. What sets the tobacco case apart was the ability of tobacco control advocates to create and maintain a consensus on policy solutions, expand their reach in low- and middle-income countries and combine evidence-
based research with advocacy reaching beyond the public health-centered focus of the core network. In contrast, a similar network in the alcohol case struggled with expanding its reach and has yet to overcome divisions based on competing problem definitions and solutions to alcohol harm. The tobacco control network evolved from a group of dedicated individuals to a global coalition of membership-based organizations, whereas the alcohol control network remains at the stage of a collection of dedicated and like-minded individuals.
Health Policy and Planning, Aug 14, 2016
Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010,... more Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study investigates the role of a global health network, anchored by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), which has used scientific evidence on harm and effective interventions to advocate for greater global public health efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The study uses process-tracing methodology and expert interviews to evaluate the accomplishments and limitations of this network. The study documents how network members have not only contributed to greater global awareness about alcohol harm, but also advanced a public health approach to addressing this issue at the global level. Although the current network represents an expanding global coalition of like-minded individuals, it faces considerable challenges in advancing its cause towards successful implementation of effective alcohol control policies across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis reveals a need to transform the network into a formal coalition of regional and national organizations that represent a broader variety of constituents, including the medical community, consumer groups and development-focused non-governmental organizations. Considering the growing harm of alcohol abuse in LMICs and the availability of proven and cost-effective public health interventions, alcohol control represents an excellent ‘buy’ for donors interested in addressing non-communicable diseases. Alcohol control has broad beneficial effects for human development, including promoting road safety and reducing domestic violence and health care costs across a wide variety of illnesses caused by alcohol consumption.
Review of International Studies, Oct 29, 2013
Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animate... more Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animated by global norms to advance human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian relief, environmental stewardship, and conflict resolution. However, scholarship has also identified instances in which TNGOs appear to act ‘instrumentally’ by engaging in resource-maximising behaviour seemingly inconsistent with their principled nature. Moreover, prior scholarship addressing this puzzle has been constrained by the limitations of small-n case studies examining relatively narrow subsectors of the TNGO community. Addressing these limitations, we reexamine the logic of TNGO behaviour in light of findings from an interdisciplinary, mixed-method research initiative consisting of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a diverse sample of 152 top organisational leaders from all major sectors of TNGO activity. Using an inductive approach to discover how TNGO leaders understand their own behaviour, we introduce the heuristic of ‘principled instrumentalism’ and specify our framework with a formal model.
Public Management Review, 2013
Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades.... more Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. This rapid growth has created some confusion about terminology and approaches to research in the field. We organize the network literature in public administration using compact citation networks to identify coherent subdomains focused on (1) policy formation, (2) governance and (3) policy implementation. We trace how these domains differ in their approach to defining the role of networks, relationships and actors and to what extent the articles apply formal network analysis techniques. Based on a subsequent content analysis of the sample articles, we identify promising research avenues focused on the wider adoption of methods derived from social network analysis and the conditions under which networks actually deliver improved results.
Journal of Business Ethics, 2012
Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporat... more Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporate interest in establishing credentials for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this article, we show how increasing demands for accountability directed at both businesses and NGOs can have the unintended effect of compromising the autonomy of nonprofits and fostering their co-optation. Greater scrutiny of NGO spending driven by self-appointed watchdogs of the nonprofit sector and a prevalence of strategic notions of CSR advanced by corporate actors weaken the ability of civil society actors to change the business practices of their partners in the commercial sector. To counter this trend, we argue that corporations should embrace a political notion of CSR and should actively encourage NGOs to strengthen “downward accountability” mechanisms, even if this creates more tensions in corporate–NGO partnerships. Rather than seeing NGOs as tools in a competition for a comparative advantage in the market place, corporations should actively support NGO independence and critical capacity.
International Studies Review, 2022
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) ... more A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to "decolonize" their practices, to "shift the power" to the Global South, and to put an end to "white saviorism" by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs' ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs' struggles to adapt in response to their critics are the result of TNGOs' "nonprofitness." By virtue of being nonprofit, TNGOs are embedded in an architecture consisting of forms and norms that inherently limit the extent to which they are able to change. Using the construct of the architecture, this article provides a novel account for the challenges that TNGOs confront as they attempt to close the gap between the rhetoric and reality of inclusive and transformational socioeconomic, political, or environmental change.
Voluntas, 2021
A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA... more A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to employ both techniques iteratively to capture often implicit ideas and meaning-making by third-sector leaders, donors, and other stakeholders. CAQDAS facilitates the coding, organization, and quantification of qualitative data, effectively creating parallel qualitative and quantitative data structures. LCA facilities the discovery of latent concepts, document classification, and the identification of exemplary qualitative evidence to aid interpretation. For third-sector research, CAQDAS and LCA are particularly promising because diverse stakeholders usually do not share homogenous views about core issues such as organizational effectiveness, collaboration, impact measurement, or philanthropic approaches, for example. The procedure explained here provides a rigorous method for discovering and understanding diversity in perspectives and is especially useful in medium-n research settings common to third-sector scholarship.
Voluntas, 2021
This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitt... more This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitted by 187 of 209 signatories of the Giving Pledge. The philanthropy of the wealthy is gaining increasing public attention and is subject to growing criticism, which demands additional study of how the wealthy collectively explain their generosity. The mixed-method analysis finds a strong emphasis on education and health causes and identifies two distinct and coherent rationales for being generous. The majority of letters express a social–normative rationale, consisting of two prevailing explanations: an expressed gratitude and desire to ‘‘give back’’ (1) and references to family upbringing as a socializing force (2). A minority of letters articulate a personal–consequentialist rationale, highlighting three separate explanations: a large inheritance may harm offspring (1), giving as personal gratification (2), and an acknowledgment of excess wealth with no better use (3). An expressed desire to have impact and make a difference appears in both rationales. The overall dominance of a social–normative rationale projects a discourse emphasizing benevolence as well as a narrative in which billionaires are an exceptionally productive and grateful subset of society. While previous studies have primarily focused on identifying individual psychological motives, this study shows how the Giving Pledge letters reflect a philanthropic discourse among the wealthy going back to Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth.
Society, 2021
Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods acr... more Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods across the world. One of the most prominent recent expressions of these efforts is the Giving Pledge, created in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates in collaboration with Warren Buffett. After a decade of its existence, this analysis of the Giving Pledge population and its commitment letters shows an overall dominance of white, male, and US-based billionaires among the signatories. Tech billionaires are a wealthier and younger subgroup of pledgers than their counterparts in other industries. The pledge letters reveal an emphasis on education and health as dominant philanthropic causes. Among explanations for giving, the four most frequent reasons mentioned are a desire to make a difference, a wish to give back, a sense of personal fulfillment resulting from giving, and references to being socialized into philanthropic giving early in life. While the Giving Pledge is the most prominent global effort to increase philanthropic giving among the wealthy, the voluntary nature and relatively modest commitment goal make it difficult to assess its significance and impact.
E-International Relations, 2020
Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their... more Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their legitimacy. For many critics, they no longer do what their original purpose was. This essay explores a growing gap between the ambitions of INGOs and public perceptions of the sector.
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 2020
Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Inter... more Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies are less comfortable than digital natives to cede substantial control over campaigns to their supporters. At the same time, legacy NGOs and digital natives acknowledge similar challenges with regard to enhancing the civic agency of their supporters. Digital natives are more open to online feedback and supporter-led actions, while both types of organizations report similar challenges in utilizing digital tools for sustained and long-term organizing.
Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 2019
Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Inter... more Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies are less comfortable than digital natives to cede substantial control over campaigns to their supporters. At the same time, legacy NGOs and digital natives acknowledge similar challenges with regard to enhancing the civic agency of their supporters. Digital natives are more open to online feedback and supporter-led actions, while both types of organizations report similar challenges in utilizing digital tools for sustained and long-term organizing.
International Studies Quarterly, 2020
International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling no... more International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused on elite networks across NGOs, states, and international organizations. This article considers how digital technologies generate new types of networked power between NGOs and their members. Digital tools allow for fast feedback from supporters, rapid surges in mobilization, and more decentralized campaigns. Importantly, in the digital era, NGOs must decide not only which digital platforms to use, but also whether to devolve decision-making to their supporters. Two questions arise: First, do NGO staff or supporters primarily define and produce advocacy content? Second, is the goal of digital activism to broaden or intensify participation? Answers to these questions generate four digital strategies: proselytizing, testing, conversing, and facilitating. These strategies change advocacy practices, but only facilitating strategies open up new forms of networked power based on supporter-to-supporter connections. Digital strategies have profound ramifications for individual organizations, the nature of the advocacy sector, and its power in relation to states, corporations, and other nonstate actors. Digital adoption patterns shape how NGOs choose campaigns, how they legitimate their claims, and what strategies they rely on.
Do Executives Approach Leadership Differently When They Are Involved in Collaborative Partnerships? A Perspective from International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs), 2018
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’ own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing & outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications for both nonprofit and public management.
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations
(INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their
own organization and the external environment. Frequently,
these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting
or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is
extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’
own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws
on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with
senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions
are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be
important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view
these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not
they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results
show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant
across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in
collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with
regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships
are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership
and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in
partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of
leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing &
outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible
causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications
for both nonprofit and public management.
Public Performance & Management Review, 2019
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the interna... more Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’ own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing & outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications for both nonprofit and public management.
Public Performance & Management Review, 2019
The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced convergence over ... more The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced
convergence over the past decades, particularly as academic programs, conferences, and journals in public administration have increasingly embraced nonprofit management. Given the significance of this development, the lack of a formal theoretical basis for
convergence is surprising and potentially problematic. This article attempts to formalize such a basis by expositing the shared constitutive features of public and nonprofit management. These features include social goods provision, outcome ambiguity, delegation, and surplus nondistribution. Analysis of these features—and consideration of alternative explanations—demonstrates that a consolidated field of “public and nonprofit management” may be warranted by definite theoretical principles. The existence of this theoretical basis may provide stakeholders with opportunities to approach and manage the process of convergence more strategically.
Public Administration Review, 2016
The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the pro... more The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the problem of sustainable development is among the most pressing public administration challenges. As principal actors within the international development community, transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a leading role in piloting a wide variety of development-focused strategies. During the past decade, many of these transnational NGOs, along with the United Nations, have embraced a rights-based approach (RBA) to development as an alternative to
traditional service delivery. Despite the growing popularity of RBA among NGOs and other development actors, surprisingly little attention has been paid to understanding the significance of RBA for public administration and for public managers—the “other side of the coin.” Drawing on current research in NGO studies and international development, this article describes several varieties of contemporary rights-based approaches, analyzes their impact on development practices, and examines the intersection of RBA and public administration.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent ... more Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent in low-and middle-income countries than for others. One reason may be differences in the effectiveness of global health networks, which have proliferated in recent years. Some may be more capable than others in attracting attention to a condition, in generating funding, in developing interventions and in convincing national governments to adopt policies. This article introduces a supplement on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. The supplement examines networks concerned with six global health problems: tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality and newborn deaths. This article presents a conceptual framework delineating factors that may shape why networks crystallize more easily surrounding some issues than others, and once formed, why some are better able than others to shape policy and public health outcomes. All supplement papers draw on this framework. The framework consists of 10 factors in three categories: (1) features of the networks and actors that comprise them, including leadership, governance arrangements, network composition and framing strategies; (2) conditions in the global policy environment, including potential allies and opponents, funding availability and global expectations concerning which issues should be prioritized; (3) and characteristics of the issue, including severity, tractability and affected groups. The article also explains the design of the project, which is grounded in comparison of networks surrounding three matched issues: TB and pneumonia, tobacco use and alcohol harm, and maternal and newborn survival. Despite similar burden and issue characteristics, there has been considerably greater policy traction for the first in each pair. The supplement articles aim to explain the role of networks in shaping these differences, and collectively represent the first comparative effort to understand the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. Global health networks—webs of individuals and organizations linked by a shared concern for a health condition—now exist for most high-burden health problems that low-and middle-income countries face. However, scholars have paid them scant attention, so we know little about their origins and the influence they have in global health.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is th... more Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings from a research project on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks addressing tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although networks are only one of many factors influencing priority, they do matter, particularly for shaping the way the problem and solutions are understood, and convincing governments, international organizations and other global actors to address the issue. Their national-level effects vary by issue and are more difficult to ascertain. Networks are most likely to produce effects when (1) their members construct a compelling framing of the issue, one that includes a shared understanding of the problem, a consensus on solutions and convincing reasons to act and (2) they build a political coalition that includes individuals and organizations beyond their traditional base in the health sector, a task that demands engagement in the politics of the issue, not just its technical aspects. Maintaining a focused frame and sustaining a broad coalition are often in tension: effective networks find ways to balance the two challenges. The emergence and effectiveness of a network are shaped both by its members’ decisions and by contextual factors, including historical influences (e.g. prior failed attempts to address the problem), features of the policy environment (e.g. global development goals) and characteristics of the issue the network addresses (e.g. its mortality burden). Their proliferation raises the issue of their legitimacy. Reasons to consider them legitimate include their members’ expertise and the attention they bring to neglected issues. Reasons to question their legitimacy include their largely elite composition and the fragmentation they bring to global health governance.
Health Policy and Planning, 2016
Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunic... more Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Both issues have gained increased international attention, but tobacco control has made more sustained progress in terms of international and domestic policy commitments, resources dedicated to reducing harm, and reduction of tobacco use in many high-income countries. The research presented here offers insights into why risk factors with comparable levels of harm experience different trajectories of global attention. The analysis focuses particular attention on the role of dedicated global health networks composed of individuals and organizations producing research and engaging in advocacy on a given health problem. Variation in issue characteristics and the policy environment shape the opportunities and challenges of global health networks focused on reducing the burden of disease. What sets the tobacco case apart was the ability of tobacco control advocates to create and maintain a consensus on policy solutions, expand their reach in low- and middle-income countries and combine evidence-
based research with advocacy reaching beyond the public health-centered focus of the core network. In contrast, a similar network in the alcohol case struggled with expanding its reach and has yet to overcome divisions based on competing problem definitions and solutions to alcohol harm. The tobacco control network evolved from a group of dedicated individuals to a global coalition of membership-based organizations, whereas the alcohol control network remains at the stage of a collection of dedicated and like-minded individuals.
Health Policy and Planning, Aug 14, 2016
Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010,... more Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study investigates the role of a global health network, anchored by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), which has used scientific evidence on harm and effective interventions to advocate for greater global public health efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The study uses process-tracing methodology and expert interviews to evaluate the accomplishments and limitations of this network. The study documents how network members have not only contributed to greater global awareness about alcohol harm, but also advanced a public health approach to addressing this issue at the global level. Although the current network represents an expanding global coalition of like-minded individuals, it faces considerable challenges in advancing its cause towards successful implementation of effective alcohol control policies across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis reveals a need to transform the network into a formal coalition of regional and national organizations that represent a broader variety of constituents, including the medical community, consumer groups and development-focused non-governmental organizations. Considering the growing harm of alcohol abuse in LMICs and the availability of proven and cost-effective public health interventions, alcohol control represents an excellent ‘buy’ for donors interested in addressing non-communicable diseases. Alcohol control has broad beneficial effects for human development, including promoting road safety and reducing domestic violence and health care costs across a wide variety of illnesses caused by alcohol consumption.
Review of International Studies, Oct 29, 2013
Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animate... more Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animated by global norms to advance human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian relief, environmental stewardship, and conflict resolution. However, scholarship has also identified instances in which TNGOs appear to act ‘instrumentally’ by engaging in resource-maximising behaviour seemingly inconsistent with their principled nature. Moreover, prior scholarship addressing this puzzle has been constrained by the limitations of small-n case studies examining relatively narrow subsectors of the TNGO community. Addressing these limitations, we reexamine the logic of TNGO behaviour in light of findings from an interdisciplinary, mixed-method research initiative consisting of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a diverse sample of 152 top organisational leaders from all major sectors of TNGO activity. Using an inductive approach to discover how TNGO leaders understand their own behaviour, we introduce the heuristic of ‘principled instrumentalism’ and specify our framework with a formal model.
Public Management Review, 2013
Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades.... more Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. This rapid growth has created some confusion about terminology and approaches to research in the field. We organize the network literature in public administration using compact citation networks to identify coherent subdomains focused on (1) policy formation, (2) governance and (3) policy implementation. We trace how these domains differ in their approach to defining the role of networks, relationships and actors and to what extent the articles apply formal network analysis techniques. Based on a subsequent content analysis of the sample articles, we identify promising research avenues focused on the wider adoption of methods derived from social network analysis and the conditions under which networks actually deliver improved results.
Journal of Business Ethics, 2012
Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporat... more Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporate interest in establishing credentials for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this article, we show how increasing demands for accountability directed at both businesses and NGOs can have the unintended effect of compromising the autonomy of nonprofits and fostering their co-optation. Greater scrutiny of NGO spending driven by self-appointed watchdogs of the nonprofit sector and a prevalence of strategic notions of CSR advanced by corporate actors weaken the ability of civil society actors to change the business practices of their partners in the commercial sector. To counter this trend, we argue that corporations should embrace a political notion of CSR and should actively encourage NGOs to strengthen “downward accountability” mechanisms, even if this creates more tensions in corporate–NGO partnerships. Rather than seeing NGOs as tools in a competition for a comparative advantage in the market place, corporations should actively support NGO independence and critical capacity.
Routledge Handbook of International Organization, 2012
The Oxford Handbook of International Security, 2018
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significan... more Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged in the twentieth century following both World Wars. A more sustained movement toward international criminal responsibility spread from the post-authoritarian context of Latin American transitions of the 1980s. While proponents of such trials have argued that they deter future atrocities and are less costly than humanitarian interventions, many of the claims about the trials’ impact require more research. Considering research across a wide-range of transnational issues, the key lessons for TANs include moving beyond “naming and shaming” approaches, giving local populations more control over trials and other post-violence measures, and accepting that prosecutions rarely address root causes of widespread violence and should be part of a broader mix of measures designed to represent a true break with the past.
Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations, 2019
The Palgrave Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation, and Nonprofit Associations, 2016
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
The Sage Handbook of Human Rights, 2014
The Persistent Power of Human Rights. From Commitment to Compliance, 2013
Transnational Dynamics of Civil War, 2013
This essay explores the transnational mechanisms affecting the violent struggle of the Lord's Res... more This essay explores the transnational mechanisms affecting the violent struggle of the Lord's Resistance Army. In order to understand better new forms of post-Cold War violent conflict, a growing body of research focuses on the transnational dimensions of these struggles. Many of the recent quantitative studies addressing such questions have highlighted the role of diaspora support or the ability of rebel groups to retreat across state borders. But most of these studies are content with claims that such factors matter for outbreak and perpetuation of violence without showing how they specifically play into the mobilization of resources, changes in framing the violence, and choices of targets and strategies. Such analyses also largely fail to look at the interactions between transnational mechanisms and other, more locally driven factors that may mediate or even render external influences ineffective. Finally, rarely do studies explore the interaction between transnational mechanisms sustaining the violence and countervailing transnational efforts designed to end it.
While greater attention to local grievances debunks persistent myths framing LRA violence as 'irrational,' a focus on transnational mechanisms sheds light on shifts in a rebel movement’s environment that are equally relevant to developing more effective interventions. The continued international preference for a military response reflects a limited grasp of both the local and the transnational dimensions of this conflict. As a result, the international community time and again fails to develop effective strategies to protect civilians. President Obama’s October 2011 decision to deploy an additional 100 U.S. forces to eliminate the LRA represents a continuation of such failed external efforts.
Handbook of International Relations, 2nd edition, edited by Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse, and Beth A. Simmons, pp. 827-851, 2013
Human Rights in the 21st Century: Continuity and Change Since 9/11, edited by Michael Goodhart and Anja Mihr, pp. 203-221, 2011
Advocacy Organizations and Collective Action, edited by Assem Prakash and Mary Kay Gugerty, pp. 229-251, 2010
The International Studies Encyclopedia, Vol. XI, edited by Robert A. Denemark, pp. 7189-7208, 2010
Globalizing Justice. Critical Perspectives on Transnational Norms and the Cross-Border Migration of Legal Norms, edited by Donald W. Jackson, Michael C. Tolley, and Mary L. Volcansek, pp. 121-139, 2010
Handbook of International Relations, 2002
Transnationale Öffentlichkeiten und Identitäten im 20. Jahrhundert, edited by Hartmut Kaelble, Martin Kirsch and Alexander Schmidt-Gernig, pp. 423-443 , 2002
Intervention and Transnationalism in Africa: Global-Local Networks of Power, edited by Thomas Callaghy, Ronald Kassimir, and Robert Latham , pp. 149-172, 2001
Global Institutions and Local Empowerment. Competing Theoretical Perspectives, edited by Kendall Stiles, pp. 85-113, 2000
Democracy without Borders. Transnationalisation and Conditionality in New Democracies, edited by Jean Grugel, pp. 23-41, 1999
The Power of Human Rights. International Norms and Domestic Change, edited by Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink, pp. 39-77, 1999
Anpassung oder Austritt: Industriestaaten in der UNESCO-Krise. Eine Beitrag zur vergleichenden Außenpolitikforschung, edited by Volker Rittberger, pp. 23-52, 1995
Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2019
American Political Science Association, 2012
This report focuses on three arenas in which promising democratic innovations are emerging: human... more This report focuses on three arenas in which promising democratic innovations are emerging: human rights based approaches to democratization, welfare, and development; participatory governance; and, economic citizenship. One of our main aims is to draw attention to some crucial themes and objectives they share in common: deepening democracy; enhancing collective and individual agency; reducing poverty; achieving greater equality of wealth, income, power, respect, influence, legal status, or opportunity; and, cultivating solidarity in democratic communities. We view these as imperatives for revitalizing democracy in our volatile world, and the innovations we highlight throughout have been selected to illustrate how this revitalization might take place.
openGlobalRights, Nov 27, 2013
The rights based approach to development is increasingly popular, but more rights-based money isn... more The rights based approach to development is increasingly popular, but more rights-based money isn’t the answer to the world’s ills. Rights-based practitioners will have to do a better job of evaluating their own efforts, helping local communities organize, and overcoming disincentives to collaboration.
The United States and other developed nations play a crucial role in addressing the rapidly growi... more The United States and other developed nations play a crucial role in addressing the rapidly growing global harm caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental illness. These conditions are caused by a wide range of factors, including also behaviors that societies and individuals can change. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four main risk factors: smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity. Today, 63% of all deaths are caused today by NCDs, a vast majority of these deaths are preventable and occur in the developing world. While malnutrition and communicable diseases such as malaria or HIV/AIDs still pose significant challenges, states have for too long neglected NCDs. Today, 80% of smokers live in low-and middle-income nations and six million are killed every year by cigarettes. Alcohol is the top risk factor accounting for deaths among the 15-59 year old globally, while the number of obese people in developing nations increased from 250 million to 904 million between 1980 and 2008. Unfortunately, a majority of developing nations lack not
The mission of the Moynihan Institute is to extend, integrate and focus the Maxwell School's comm... more The mission of the Moynihan Institute is to extend, integrate and focus the Maxwell School's commitment to exploring the international and global concerns raised by an interdependent world of diverse cultures, economies and political systems; to support interdisciplinary, collaborative research projects among teams of faculty and graduate students, to work on understanding and solving critical world problems; and to maintain a productive dialogue between the academic and policy-making communities in the process of translating theory into practice. The Transnational NGO Initiative represents one of the major programmatic thrusts of the Moynihan Institute. The initiative was established in 2004 in recognition of the growing importance of non-governmental organisations in world affairs.
In 2003, Plan International adopted a Child-Centered Community Development (CCCD) approach as it... more In 2003, Plan International adopted a Child-Centered Community Development (CCCD) approach as its international framework for its programmatic work. CCCD reframes some familiar tools of Plan’s work, including capacity-building and participation, while also expanding into new strategic areas, such as addressing national level policies and legislation and developing more holistic crosslevel activities and partnerships. Plan’s shift to CCCD represents a significant shift in the organization’s approach to its development work. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of how CCCD enhances Plan’s program effectiveness and sustainability by
reviewing all available single-program, external evaluations completed between 2007 and 2010 in the areas of water and sanitation, education, and health.
Monday developments: a biweekly publication of InterAction, Dec 2009
Monday Developments, Apr 2009
The Social Science Encyclopedia, edited by Adam Kuper and Jessica Kuper, p. 521-526, 2004
The subject of the study is regime change understood as the modification of broadly defined polit... more The subject of the study is regime change understood as the modification of broadly defined political institutions and practices governing domestic politics. Democratization is a possible outcome of such a process if the modification of political institutions and practices reflects convergence with a particular set of liberal ideas and norms. During the last 25 years the interest of political scientists in such processes has steadily grown. Democratization spread from Southern Europe in the 1970s to Latin America in the 1980s and finally reached Eastern Europe and the other continents in the late 1980s and early 1990s. More recently, some have diagnosed an 'ebbing' of the wave. While the empirical record of the 'third wave' is mixed, its profound effects on the way the academic community studies democratization are undeniable. The new cases o f democratization led during the 1980s to a paradigm shift away from structuralist explanations towards more contingency-driven and agency-based approaches. Challenges to the modernization school or cultural explanations of democratic change highlighted cases of regime change under structurally unfavorable conditions and called for greater attention towards the role of political actors, institutions, and contingencies.
The promotion of democracy and human rights has become a central part of donor and non-government... more The promotion of democracy and human rights has become a central part of donor and non-governmental activism in Africa. Transnational human rights organizations play an increasingly prominent role in shaping donor agendas as well as the domestic politics of regime change. How successful are these efforts to promote principles of democracy and human rights from the outside? This book answers this question based on a comparison of regime change in Kenya and Uganda from the 1980s until today. It is the first systematic effort to bring together the comparative democratization literature and the recent work of International Relations scholars exploring the role of transnational advocacy networks.
Principled mobilization for human rights is more successful in challenging authoritarian rule than in building sustainable democratic institutions. Beyond forcing an authoritarian regime into initial political reforms, external interventions distract domestic allies from building strong networks and provide significant mobilizing opportunities to those opposing democratic change.
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International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their ... more International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic others to increase their own legitimacy. States are characterized by their exclusive control over a territory, a population, the means of violence, and their right to representation in international affairs. Many transnational NGOs eschew exclusive control over a territory or the monopoly of violence, but they use specific strategies to mimic the state model. Non-governmental organizations often create a membership base (“population”), a hierarchical and professional governance structure (“government”), independent research capabilities (“intelligence”), a coherent set of goals pursued against other state and non-state entities (“foreign policy”), and an often contentious repertoire of activism (“diplomacy”).
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as i... more Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism have shaped global systems of human rights protection. The study contrasts the institutional evolution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the legally-binding Genocide Convention (GC), and investigates how the transnational human rights movement and its principles have shaped international responses to genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda. The paper argues that individualism and universalism have pushed the UDHR into the center of framing human rights issues (including TAN missions), while limiting the role of the group-focused GC in shaping responses to atrocities. This explanation complements existing studies explaining variation in treaty commitments focusing primarily on domestic-level attributes or the substance of treaty obligations. Rather than regime type or costs of compliance, this paper highlights how the international community has come to understand bodily harm primarily within an individualistic and universal frame. While the language of individual rights generates powerful normative mobilization, it generates a particular lens of understanding bodily harm.
The Palgrave Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation, and Nonprofit Associations, 2016
Taking international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) as the key focus, this chapter outlin... more Taking international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) as the key focus, this chapter outlines the history and nature of transnational voluntary associations before proceeding to evaluate the recent transformation of their organizational forms and their shifting geographical distribution. We argue that the traditional, hierarchical model of a Western-headquartered INGO is being increasingly challenged by new, decentralized organizational forms based in multiple world regions. The chapter then considers transnational associations’ practices, exploring their advocacy and service roles and mechanisms for evaluating their effectiveness. The proposition that transnational associations have contributed toward developing global civil society and enhancing global democracy is then considered, before proceeding to an evaluation of their legitimacy and accountability, which have become increasingly central to the research agenda. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research.
SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2013
Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership
n/a
The Oxford Handbook of International Security, 2018
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant... more Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged in the twentieth century following both World Wars. A more sustained movement toward international criminal responsibility spread from the post-authoritarian context of Latin American transitions of the 1980s. While proponents of such trials have argued that they deter future atrocities and are less costly than humanitarian interventions, many of the claims about the trials’ impact require more research. Considering research across a wide-range of transnational issues, the key lessons for TANs include moving beyond “naming and shaming” approaches, giving local populations more control over trials and other post-violence measures, and accepting that prosecutions rarely address root causes of widespread violence and should be part of a broader mix of me...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2004
International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their ... more International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic others to increase their own legitimacy. States are characterized by their exclusive control over a territory, a population, the means of violence, and their right to representation in international affairs. Many transnational NGOs eschew exclusive control over a territory or the monopoly of violence, but they use specific strategies to mimic the state model. Non-governmental organizations often create a membership base (“population”), a hierarchical and professional governance structure (“government”), independent research capabilities (“intelligence”), a coherent set of goals pursued against other state and non-state entities (“foreign policy”), and an often contentious repertoire of activism (“diplomacy”).
Transnational Mobilization and Domestic Regime Change, 2006
This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first section of this chapter provides a desc... more This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first section of this chapter provides a description of the political developments in Kenya and Uganda prior to the onset of transnational mobilization against authoritarian rule. Differences in the initiation of regime change are the result of variation of authoritarian rule emerging after political independence. Transnational mobilization against authoritarian rule targeted both countries with similar strength, but produced a fundamental regime change in Uganda in 1986 and more limited political reforms in Kenya in 1991. Transnational mobilization and domestic conditions create distinct paths of political change.
Contemporary Sociology, 2001
Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2006
Chapter 2 deals with two concepts.1 The first two sections define democracy as a political system... more Chapter 2 deals with two concepts.1 The first two sections define democracy as a political system maximizing popular participation organized in periodic electoral contests. The rest of the chapter adds a transnational dimension to the comparative study of democratization. The transnational mobilization for democratic change is particularly relevant in challenging authoritarian rule. In later stages external influences combine with domestic factors to produce variation in the paths of regime change. Transnational mobilization not only decreases in importance during later stages of regime change, but also produces more ambiguous effects on democratic change. External actors find it easier to join domestic groups in challenges to authoritarian leaders than to contribute positively to the creation and consolidation of democratic practices.
Transnational human rights groups reframed the international image of East African governments du... more Transnational human rights groups reframed the international image of East African governments during the 1970s and 1980s. Uganda’s Amin and Obote in his second term as well as Kenya’s Moi after 1985 all faced significant principled international challenges to their domestic rule. The mobilization created, empowered, and protected domestic allies in support of human rights. Although responses by the UN and donor governments were slow and ineffective, the targeted governments did not simply ignore the challenge but were vulnerable to the published information and sought to counteract the efforts to de-legitimize their rule. This pressure played a crucial role in bringing about democratic reforms in both nations.
SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2002
International Studies Review
This forum seeks to honor the contributions of a scholar who has greatly influenced international... more This forum seeks to honor the contributions of a scholar who has greatly influenced international relations (IR) scholarship on transnational relations and constructivist research: Thomas Risse. Best known for his pathbreaking studies on the importance of transnational actors, the power of international norms and ideas in international relations, and the influence of domestic structures on international interactions, his work has significantly contributed to several interrelated research agendas within IR. The forum takes a fresh look at some of his contributions, focusing on assumptions about the nature of non-state actors, the content of human rights, and the evolution of knowledge that underpin his work. Interrogating especially some of the liberal assumptions that have informed these lines of research, we ask: are we still dealing with the same kinds of non-state actors that Thomas Risse and early constructivist research have analyzed? How has the nature of these actors changed,...
Diego, the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research studies issues of strate... more Diego, the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research studies issues of strategic importance to the nonprofit sector, with the goal of identifying and advancing best practices in nonprofit research and evaluation metrics. The Caster Center offers resources and products that are grounded in systematic research and have direct applicability to the field. We work in collaboration, and under contract, with nonprofits and philanthropic organizations on a wide range of projects, including needs assessment, program evaluation, theory of change or logic model development, grantmaking impact reports, and board development. We regularly analyze funding, public policy, and environmental trends affecting the nonprofit sector, and publish data about public charities and foundations in California. The Caster Center also serves as an important training facility that enables doctoral students to engage in a variety of nonprofit sector research projects.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as i... more Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism have shaped global systems of human rights protection. The study contrasts the institutional evolution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the legally-binding Genocide Convention (GC), and investigates how the transnational human rights movement and its principles have shaped international responses to genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda. The paper argues that individualism and universalism have pushed the UDHR into the center of framing human rights issues (including TAN missions), while limiting the role of the group-focused GC in shaping responses to atrocities. This explanation complements existing studies explaining variation in treaty commitments focusing primarily on domestic-level attributes or the substance of treaty obligations. Rather than regime type or costs of compliance, this paper highlights how the international community has come to understand bodily harm primarily within an individualistic and universal frame. While the language of individual rights generates powerful normative mobilization, it generates a particular lens of understanding bodily harm.
The SAGE Handbook of Human Rights
the previous year that "begin ning in late September, however, there was a visible improvement in... more the previous year that "begin ning in late September, however, there was a visible improvement in the human rights situation, as the bipartisan Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) brokered a package of wide-ranging political reforms, which the Government enacted in early November" (U.S. Department of State 1998: 1). In the following sections, I will describe in greater detail how human rights conditions in Kenya and Uganda changed over time. I have selected 'torture', 'extra-judicial killings', and 'arbitrary arrests' as indicators, because reliable information about these abuses is available for both countries and the whole period under investigation.
International Studies Review
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) ... more A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to “decolonize” their practices, to “shift the power” to the Global South, and to put an end to “white saviorism” by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs’ ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs’ struggles to adapt in response to their critics are the result of TNGOs’ “nonprofitness.” By virtue of being nonprofit, TNGOs are embedded in an architecture consisting of forms and norms that inherently limit the extent to which they are able to change. Using the construct of the architecture, this article provides a novel account for the challenges that ...
Between Power and Irrelevance
Chapter 4 explains why and how TNGOs have become powerful advocates in global affairs. It argues ... more Chapter 4 explains why and how TNGOs have become powerful advocates in global affairs. It argues that TNGOs were at the “right place at the right time” and benefited from favorable geopolitical conditions in previous decades. The chapter examines the nature of TNGO power historically and explains how TNGOs have exerted influence throughout various stages of the policy process, including issue emergence, agenda-setting, policy formation, and policy implementation. Even as TNGOs have largely benefited from professionalized activism and elite access, their power today may be plateauing, if not waning, because of a less favorable operating environment and the increasing incongruity between their contemporary ambitions and their legacy forms and norms. Such conditions suggest that the sector is likely to struggle to live up to its rhetoric of social transformation without significant changes.