Volker Heins: Nongovernmental Organizations in International Society: Struggles Over Recognition (original) (raw)

2008, Human Rights Review

Volker Heins' newest contribution to the deepening debate on the origins, organization, and influence of international non-governmental organization (NGOs) is a thought-provoking blend of international relations theory, political theory, and real-world illustrations. This book draws together an impressive number of themes, including the changing nature of the state, the impact of shifting values on society, and the relationships between state and society and power and morality, into a concise and enjoyable explanation of the significance of NGOs. But there is a twist. NGOs are the heroes of the story, but they are convincingly characterized as parasites whose contributions to international society are mixed. While I want to challenge several of the arguments presented, Heins lays the ground for a fertile debate. His book has great potential to advance theorizing about NGOs, a pursuit which has been lacking in international relations. In NGOs in International Society, Heins makes three important contributions to a systematic, theoretical understanding of NGOs. First, he carefully dissects NGOs as organizations in order to understand what they do, why they do it, and why this matters. This approach, similar to that advocated by Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore (2004), enables Heins to avoid the normative gloss which can accompany NGO research which takes NGO self-descriptions at face value. Heins argues that NGOs, defined as "post-traditional and other-regarding civil associations that act on behalf of distant strangers, including future generations and nonhuman species" (12), can be analyzed as a single category based on their fundamental characteristics and purposes. This provides a macro-perspective on their origins and operations and avoids the perils of focusing on their idiosyncrasies or ad hoc accounts of success or failure. While a theoretical rather than empirical work, Heins presents a unique perspective on NGOs characterized as parasites (36-40, 103-105). NGOs are neither agents of states nor independent of states' resources, preferences, and