Non-governmental actors and the political dimension: navigating the tensions in new governance spaces (original) (raw)
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Social Science Research Network, 2010
A preeminent feature of the post 1990 World is the role been played by Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in the emerging global public space. NGOs have become very important actors on the global scene; contributing to, and sometimes determining the form and content of global public policy. Indeed, ala globalization, they are today able to provide institutional infrastructure, knowledge, and material resources for citizens to engage local governments and global policy-making institutions. This role of NGOs in the global public space has not only redefined the matrix of global governance institutions, but also of the ideas of global citizenship. What has accounted for the rise in the role of NGOs in the global public space? How have /are they contributing to refining global public policies? And what are the emerging institutional challenges facing the NGO sector? It is these questions that are reflected upon in this study. INTRODUCTION. A growing significant feature of today's global politics and governance, is the preeminent role played by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO). These organizations have today
‘State Bureaucrats’ and ‘Those NGO People’: Promoting the idea of civil society, hindering the state
One of the characteristics of Polish foreign aid is its focus on the ‘transition experience’ and civil society. This specific celebration of the ‘Polish success story’ contrasts sharply with public debates that frequently criticise the weaknesses of Polish civil society and the difficulties in state – non-state relations. The Polish Aid apparatus itself is not immune to these problems, often exhibiting antagonistic relations between NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By looking at the relations linking these stakeholders this text aims to analyse relations between the ‘state’ and ‘civil society’ in Poland. As the text demonstrates, complicated contemporary relations between NGOs and the State are first the outcome of the country’s troubled history of civil society, and an inheritance of the Solidarity movement when the concept of civil society was built on the idea of opposition to the state. Second, the anti-state attitude characterising contemporary organisations was also fostered by foreign institutions, which supported the Solidarity movement in its efforts to overturn the socialist regime in Poland, and later in the 1990s, became the strongest proponents of civil society and NGOs. Finally, these preexisting historical conditions for the strong polarisation of NGOs and state institutions are now additionally reinforced by the ‘professionalization’ and ‘institutionalisation’ of NGOs. However, the uncritical promotion of ‘Western standards’ exhibited in the ideals of transparency and audit culture, rather than generating positive change only antagonises NGOs and state institutions. The ultimate effect of this process is that NGOs become more and more obsessed with bureaucratic modes of operating, and start to resemble state institutions. Effectively, NGOs risk losing their identity which is so strongly built on the non-governmental aspect of their work. Effectively, the perpetuation of the state/non-State opposition becomes a strategy which allows this separate identity to be maintained and NGOs status to remain unchallenged.
Governance to Governmentality: Analyzing NGOs, States, and Power
Studies of global governance typically claim that the state has lost power to nonstate actors and that political authority is increasingly institutionalized in spheres not controlled by states. In this article, we challenge the core claims in the literature on global governance. Rather than focusing on the relative power of states and nonstate actors, we focus on the sociopolitical functions and processes of governance in their own right and seek to identify their rationality as practices of political rule. For this task, we use elements of the conception of power developed by Michel Foucault in his studies of ''governmentality.'' In this perspective, the role of nonstate actors in shaping and carrying out global governance-functions is not an instance of transfer of power from the state to nonstate actors but rather an expression of a changing logic or rationality of government (defined as a type of power) by which civil society is redefined from a passive object of government to be acted upon into an entity that is both an object and a subject of government. The argument is illustrated by two case studies: the international campaign to ban landmines, and international population policy. The cases show that the self-association and political will-formation characteristic of civil society and nonstate actors do not stand in opposition to the political power of the state, but is a most central feature of how power, understood as government, operates in late modern society.
2006
my dissertation committee chair, reluctantly allowed me to "jump off the deep end" and in the end taught me "how to swim." Dr. Pam Baker, a dissertation committee member, supported and guided me through every step of this journey, to include medical, physical and personal matters. Dr. Rick Brigham, a dissertation committee member, was the first person to encourage me to pursue my doctorate degree while taking a masters level course with him. Dr. Anne-Marie Balzano, a professor and friend, supported and encouraged me throughout the doctoral program. She offered her friendship and unconditional support from the moment I met her. Mr. Larry Flood, uncle and benefactor, ultimately provided me the opportunity to complete my degree. There are no words to describe how grateful I am to you for your generosity. The co-teachers and assistant principals in my study, thank you for sharing your experiences with me and providing such rich insight into your work. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .
Pressing Ahead with New Procedures for Old Machinery:Global Governance and Civil Society'
The paper provides a tour d’horizon of the challenges posed by the demands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and surveys how these demands have targeted international organisations. The paper fleshes out differences between international organizations. Relying on the seminal work of Cox and Jacobson (1973), selected international organisations are gathered into two broad categories: service organisations and forum organisations. Each of them faces different types of challenges and offers specific responses to civil society demands
Being (almost) like a State: Challenges and Opportunities of Transnational Non-Governmental Activism
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”).
What is the role of Non-governmental organizations?
Over the past three decades, more and more scholars emphasize the importance of non-state actors. In a globalizing economy, states are losing their autonomy, furthermore, they are sharing political and social powers, their sovereignty with business, international organizations, and a multitude of citizens groups, known as nongovernmental organizations. All approaches that I mentioned in my essay work capture a range of international activities related to how NGOs operate and which roles they have in the international relations.