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Who Survived? Ethiopia’s Regulatory Crackdown on Foreign-Funded NGOs
Review of International Political Economy
Abstract
How do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? Because many NGOs advocate for liberal causes such as human rights, democracy, and gender equality, they upset the political status quo. At the same time, a large number of NGOs operating in the Global South rely on international funding. This sometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation of sham or “briefcase” NGOs. Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenient NGO sector, governments exploit the role of international funding and make the case for restricting the influence of NGOs which serve as foreign agents. To pursue this objective, states worldwide are enacting laws to restrict NGOs’ access to foreign funding. We examine this regulatory offensive through an Ethiopian case study, where recent legislation prohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitive issues. We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups in Ethiopia have disappeared, while survivors have either “rebranded” or switched their work from proscribed areas. This research note highlights how government can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector. Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims of grassroots support, a reliance of external funding makes them politically vulnerable. Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as the key component of NGOs’ institutional environment.
... In their claim, terrorists come into the country through illegal migrations. Similarly, in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda, the state securitized political activism and criminalized CSOs who engaged in any form of advocacy (Dupuy et al., 2015;Njoku, 2021;Rubongoya, 2010). This made some Ethiopian CSOs make recourse to service delivery as a response to state-repressive CTMs (Dupuy et al., 2015). ...
... Similarly, in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda, the state securitized political activism and criminalized CSOs who engaged in any form of advocacy (Dupuy et al., 2015;Njoku, 2021;Rubongoya, 2010). This made some Ethiopian CSOs make recourse to service delivery as a response to state-repressive CTMs (Dupuy et al., 2015). ...
... Furthermore, some reviewed articles underscored CSOs' responses through various adaptation techniques. For instance, in Ethiopia, some CSOs changed their organizational structures to focus on service delivery (Dupuy et al., 2015). Similarly, to survive state CTMs in Afghanistan, some CSOs restricted themselves to solely service delivery roles imposed on them by the government within the context of counter-terrorism. ...
After more than 20 years of research, it is well established thatstates used counter-terrorism measures (CTMs) to close civicspaces for civil society under the pretext of curbing terrorism.However, the specific mechanisms by which these occur, or theresponses of civil society organizations (CSOs), remain hard tograsp. Furthermore, scholars are yet to fully understand themotivations for states’ repression of CSOs, including whether it ispossible that states overreacted to terrorism threats andresponded sincerely but disproportionately or that they haveanother agenda. Do some countries that do not face genuinethreats cynically follow others? How do we measure theunintended consequences for CSOs, including those engaged innon-politically sensitive issues? Furthermore, while CSOs haveeither resisted, remained silent, or complied with CTMs bymoving away from political activism, how does stateimplementation of CTMs lead CSOs to change their structures,spaces, and actors as adaption strategies, and what are the long-term consequences for democracy, rights and accountability?What drives some CSOs to adopt one set of responses whileothers choose a different approach? The present article presentsthe first systematic literature review of 83 relevant sources. Indoing so, key themes on the tactics of states and the responsesof CSOs are examined. From this, we conclude and makesuggestions for future research.
... This new approach to the regulation of civil society has attracted increasing attention from scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers alike (c.f. Lamarche, 2019;Chaudhry, 2022;Fransen et al., 2021;Bromley et al., 2020;Smidt et al., 2020;Bakke et al., 2020;Glasius et al., 2020;Poppe & Wolf, 2017;Dupuy et al., 2015Dupuy et al., , 2016Christensen & Weinstein, 2013). Recent examples include India's 2010 Foreign Contribution Act and Israel's 2016 NGO Transparency Law. ...
... We now have a fairly good understanding of which countries are adopting these legal measures as well as why they are doing so (Bromley et al., 2020;Chaudhry, 2022;Dupuy et al., 2016). More evidence continues to emerge about how civil society organizations try to adapt to and survive these regulations, and how various actors such as foreign aid donors and international institutions respond to and push back against these laws (Dupuy et al., 2015;Fransen et al., 2021). However, we still have not answered a basic question about the systematic, cross-national global effects of these legal restrictions on numbers of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in particular, since it is these organizations (and their funders) that have been heavily targeted. ...
... Defining civil society or nonprofit organizations is a definitional and conceptual minefield (Anheier et al., 2020). We define NGOs as "formal organizations that are not directly part of government or the for-profit sector, and which seek to provide services to marginalized groups, and/or advocate for social or policy change" (Dupuy et al., 2015). INGOs are non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations that are usually headquartered in one country and have affiliated offices or branches in one or more additional countries. ...
Does the adoption of restrictive regulations shape numbers of non-governmental organizations? Since the late 1990s, governments around the world have been enacting new legal measures designed to suppress civil society’s functions and organizational space to carry out advocacy and politically oriented work. Scholars have investigated the impact of these new regulations on foreign aid flows, voting behavior, and on organizations, but to date, we lack a systematic analysis about the cross-national global effects of these legal restrictions on numbers of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in particular, since it is these organizations (and their funders) that have been heavily targeted. In this research note, we fill this gap through an empirical analysis of the effects of various types of restrictive laws on INGO numbers in 96 countries between 1992 and 2018 and find that advocacy restrictions result in a reduction of transnational human rights organizations but not numbers of INGOs.
... For instance, when the Ethiopian government passed a law prohibiting foreign-funded NGOs from working on democracy and human rights, most foreign-funded CSOs closed operations. The few CSOs that survived "rebranded" or "restructured" their activities to less sensitive topics (Dupuy et al. 2015). Taken together, laws and practices that constrain CSO activity likely reduce the flow of information on government attacks against horizontal oversight institutions. ...
... CSOs retain agency in dealing with restrictions on their activity (e.g., Fransen et al. 2021;Smidt et al. 2021). While restrictions like foreign funding prohibitions-in the most drastic cases-force the closure of independent organizations (Dupuy et al. 2015), CSOs can sometimes adapt to a more restrictive environment and even organize counter-mobilization. ...
... The manuscript connects and contributes to research on shrinking civic space and the literature on democratic decline. While others have explored how government interference with CSOs affect international shaming campaigns (Bakke et al. 2019), health service provision (Heinzel and Koenig-Archibugi 2022), and the survival of CSOs (Dupuy et al. 2015), we show that severe restrictions also have repercussions on core democratic institutions like parliaments and courts. Our findings thus suggest that restrictions on CSOs are not only symptoms of authoritarian governance (e.g., Diamond 2015;Mounk 2016, 2017;Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018). ...
Existing research shows that the activity of independent civil society organizations (CSOs) is an important ingredient of democratization and democratic consolidation. Yet, what happens when governments impose restrictions on CSO activity? This manuscript investigates how restrictions on CSOs affect the quality of horizontal accountability institutions like parliaments and courts. CSOs monitor and mobilize against violations of democratic norms. Thus, if governments impose restrictions on CSO activity, they may face fewer barriers (i.e., less scrutiny and criticism) to dismantling horizontal checks and balances. In addition, when restrictions prevent CSOs from supporting horizontal accountability institutions (e.g., with monitoring and expertise), the latter’s ability to control and constrain governments likely declines. Our large-N cross-country analysis supports this argument, suggesting that the imposition of restrictions on CSOs diminishes the quality of horizontal accountability institutions. We examine alternative explanations (i.e., prior autocratization trends and the authoritarian nature of governments) and offer qualitative evidence from Kenya and Turkey to illustrate the expected causal pathways. Our results imply that a crackdown on CSOs serves as a warning sign of deteriorating horizontal oversight.
... Again, some NGOs in Ethiopia changed their vision and mission. For instance, Organization for Social Justice, an NGO founded in 2003 with a focus on advocacy for democracy, has changed its name to Ethiopian Resident Charity and is now devoted to conducting research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), educating the public about CSR, promoting CSR, involving the private sector in CSR and advocating for CSR laws and practices (Dupuy et al., 2015). Matelski (2016) describes how NGOs in Myanmar use self-organization, self-defense and resistance against governmental restrictions. ...
... Arguably, this is the most relevant and first strategy that NGOs have to consider for the sake of ensuring their survival. Dupuy et al. (2015) state this strategy is used by Ethiopian CSOs. It is also used by CSOs in other countries with constrained civic space. ...
... To prove this, an LHRC participant said, "We began also advocating for strong governmental institutions that will protect the human rights" (LHRCR1, June, 2023). Expanding NGOs scope is reported in countries like Ethiopia (Dupuy et al., 2015) and Vietnam (Crabtree-Condor, 2020). Change of focus is also revealed by Van Wessel (2023) and Fransen et al. (2021) to be used by many NGOs. ...
Purpose
The world is experiencing democratic backsliding such that the situation is down back to 1986. This has resulted in the global shrinking of civic space for civil society organizations (CSOs). NGOs engaging in advocacy activities are seen to be among the CSOs affected. Using four NGOs cases from Tanzania, the study contributes to the civic space debate by uncovering how advocacy NGOs become resilient.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is anchored in interpretivism and a cross-sectional case study design, following a qualitative approach path. Data were collected through interviews and a documentary review.
Findings
Results show that several strategies such as complying, building community back-up, collaboration, strategic litigation, using digital media and changing the scope are applied. However, strategies face obstacles including scope limitations, expected democratic roles, high cost, changes in the scope and being outsmarted by the government, and hence their effectiveness is questionable.
Research limitations/implications
This study focused on advocacy NGOs. More studies can be conducted for other advocacy-related CSOs on how they become resilient.
Practical implications
While NGOs are allowed to exist in the country, their freedom continue to be curtailed. Even the effectiveness of resiliency becomes temporary and depends on the political will of the existing regime.
Originality/value
Tanzania NGOs have to build strong bonds with citizens, expand the scope of strategies and use deliberative democratic principles to educate the government to change laws and tolerate plural political culture. Also, NGOs in other countries with confined civic space can apply the same.
... Several studies have alluded to the importance of national context in explaining the strategic behavior of NGOs (e.g., Dupuy et al., 2015;E. Johnson & Prakash, 2007;Sell & Prakash, 2004). ...
... Existing research on NGOs has argued that they are strategic in their organizational decisions and pursue goals centered on securing organizational survival, such as maximizing funding (e.g., Dupuy et al., 2015;E. Johnson & Prakash, 2007;Sell & Prakash, 2004). ...
... The composition of the country sample results from our deliberate choice to vary the country context as much as possible to include countries in which ENGOs have existed for a very long time and benefit from favorable political opportunity structures (e.g., Canada and the United States) alongside countries where ENGOs are more recent additions to the institutional landscape and must cope with comparatively less favorable political opportunity structures permanently or temporarily (e.g., several countries in Central and South America; see Partelow et al., 2020). Compared with ENGOs in Canada or the United States, ENGOs based in Central or South America also depend to a stronger degree on foreign funding (Hoogesteger, 2016, p. 170), which could make them more likely to tackle climate change issues simply because their donors or sponsors are in favor of climate action (see Dupuy et al., 2015). Thus, a comparative analysis of ENGOs based in the Americas and whether and to what extent they tackle climate change issues appears instructive. ...
To what extent do traditional environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) tackle climate change issues? What explains the variation among ENGOs regarding their attention to climate change issues? To answer these questions, we use an original dataset comprising 293 ENGOs that are affiliated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and based in North, Central, or South America. We find that generalist ENGOs have a higher likelihood of tackling climate change issues and even of indicating them as a priority area of their work. However, we also find that the issue areas of the specialist ENGOs and whether these align with climate action explain variation across ENGOs based in different countries. Compared with wildlife-focused ENGOs, especially those working on nature protection and sustainability are more likely to tackle climate change issues. Interview data confirmed that ENGO leaders make informed decisions on their organization’s goals.
... These factors include situations where state actors perceive that foreign governments are using international and local CSOs to undermine them and threaten their grip on power. For instance, in post-communist states, CSOs are seen as being weaponised by Western governments (Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015). Also, states' exclusion of CSOs may be influenced by the exceptional nature of CT laws, which put less emphasis on human rights and civil liberties. ...
... Thus, the Third sector in Uganda is being transformed through the establishment of GONGOs. This is consistent with the arguments in other case studies in the African regions, such as Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria (Brechenmacher 2017;Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015;Njoku 2020aNjoku , 2020cNjoku , 2020b. ...
... The Soviet Union was less tolerant of vibrant CSOs; hence, civil society was weak and repressed mainly by the state during the Cold War era (Watson and Burles 2018). However, post-soviet Russia saw the burgeoning of CSOs, due to the increasing support or funds from Western states that sought to spread liberal norms and democratic principles (Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015). While the Russian state believed the growth of CSOs would facilitate local philanthropy, it felt threatened by the influence of the West through CSOs on Russia's sovereignty, culture, and national unity (Crotty et al. 2014). ...
Although there have been attempts to theorise state-Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) relations in the Counter-Terrorism (CT) context , including the "co-option and containment" and "duality of coercion" perspectives, these two-way articulations have failed to account for the range of strategic options open to the state in regulating CSOs. This study presents the framework of Strategic Exclusion, Co-option and Containment (SECC) to underscore the general patterns of state engagement of CSOs in the context of CT. It mapped secondary evidence in 19 countries and used three illustrative case studies (Australia, Uganda and Russia) to examine the elements of SECC, namely, states' exclusion of CSOs in law and policymaking on CT, the use of strategic ambiguity in enacting and interpreting CT laws, delegitimizing or criminalising advocacy and influencing the transformation of CSOs into state adjutants. This pattern of engagement with CSOs is transforming voluntary and associational life in precarious ways. The article advances the Copenhagen School and rational-actor model of global strategic decision-making, and contributes to discourses on the closing of civic spaces, democratic recession and the resurgence of authoritarianism. It lays a foundation for generalisable theory and future empirical research on state behaviour towards CSOs in the context of violence, conflict, and security.
... Even without establishing any relationships, the government can still benefit from the nonprofit organizations that function in parallel to the state. Trying to remove the label of being a dictatorship from their country, the authorities often show these organizations to the international donors as a proof of existing civil society (Dupuyabc et al. 2015). ...
... For instance, the researchers show that the trust in the nonprofit sector could become very low, mainly due to the image spoiled by the international donors sponsoring briefcase organizations. They function with the permission of the government and are set up only to obtain money from donors with no real programs on the ground (Dupuyabc et al. 2015). Meanwhile, in authoritarian regimes, the self-helped groups sponsored by the members are valued highly by the population and enjoy its confidence (Lee 2005). ...
... On the other hand, the barriers are designed to block entry, funding, and advocacy for CSOs (Chaudhry 2022). As a result, with fewer local roots, INGOs encounter more difficulties registering with the governments (Li and Farid 2022) and are less capable of attracting local funding (Dupuy et al. 2015). In addition, for those advocating for the change of repressive governments, the INGOs face more challenges under repression (Springman et al. 2022). ...
... Second, strong support from local communities can guarantee INGOs' political opportunities, the chances for social organizations to affect governments (Asal et al. 2014). For example, INGOs tend to encounter difficulties in local fundraising in countries where civil society is relatively weaker (Brechenmacher 2017;Dupuy et al. 2015;Baoumi, 2016). It would make INGOs less capable of social mobilization. ...
Although violence has always been in governments’ toolkit against civil society organizations (CSOs), there has been a global trend where governments set legal and logistical barriers to non-violently repress CSOs, especially INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) since the mid-2000s. During this period, states present variations in CSO repression, ranging from moderate regulation to violent expulsion. Why do countries vary the repression? I argue that different levels of repression are based on governments’ perceived repression effectiveness in reducing INGOs’ threats. For better illustration, I propose the effectiveness-perception framework, where repression effectiveness comes from the interaction between regime type and local trust in INGOs, while the perception of effectiveness is rooted in the domestic political structure. To conduct empirical tests, I create a latent variable, local trust, to measure threats of INGOs conditional on local communities. Relying on the sample from 1996 to 2012, I find that consolidated democracies and autocracies, compared to middling countries, are more likely to adjust the repression levels based on local trust in INGOs. I expect the finding to produce some strategy-relevant insights for INGOs’ survival in the current political environment.
... Most Ethiopian NGOs are set up by a few individuals and rely on foreign funds. Local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donor rather than local priorities, instilling the notion that these groups were foreign, not indigenous organizations (Kendra Dupuyabc, 2014). Therefore, the implementation gap lies in creating successful natural resource conservation that requires effective synergy between the public sector, local NGOs and communities which the study seek to address the identified problem. ...
... Local NGOs represent an important element in the political and economic transformation of Ethiopia sought by its people and government and supported by the international donor community (Clark, 2000).Ethiopia's NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 implementation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation(Kendra Dupuyabc, 2014). Local NGOs which are non-government-aligned working on non-contentious issues of natural resources conservation can have niche opportunities and a driving force for active mobilization of all stallholders in natural resource conservation. ...
Drought and environmental deterioration have historically imposed heavy costs in Tigray. In response, Tigray has made huge efforts in soil and water conservation practices. The main objective of the article is to review and identify the lesson learnt, gaps of natural resources conservation and role of NGOs in environmental rehabilitation. The article utilized a qualitative research approach based on an exhaustive desk review of secondary data sources from different literatures. Moreover, key informant persons are communicated to augment the data obtained from the secondary sources. Based on the collected data and review of the related literatures, discussion, analysis and conclusions are drawn. With unique collective action and volunteer labor, the people of Tigray are restoring land on a massive scale. As a result, soil erosion has decreased significantly; groundwater levels are recharged significantly and this has become a catalyst to ensure food self-sufficiency and rapid economic growth. Despite, the success there is a need for improved coordination and synergy with a wide range of nongovernmental organizations. The study recommends the importance of sustainable participation of government, community and non-governmental organizations in natural resource conservation and ecosystem-based solution to environmental restoration can have potential policy implications in natural resource conservation to responds the impact of rapidly growing environmental degradation and impacts of climate changes so as to achieve sustainable development goals.
... 34. Bakke, Mitchell, andSmidt 2020;Christensen and Weinstein 2013;Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015;Dupuy, Prakash, and Ron 2016;Glasius, Schalk, and De Lange 2020;Heiss 2019. 35. ...
... 38. Brechenmacher 2017Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015. 39. ...
Nongovernmental organizations are central to contemporary global governance, and their numbers and influence have grown dramatically since the middle of the twentieth century. However, in the last three decades more than 130 states have repressed these groups, suggesting that a broad range of states perceive them as costly. When they choose to repress NGOs, under what conditions do states use violent strategies versus administrative means? The choice depends on two main factors: the nature of the threat posed by these groups, and the consequences of cracking down on them. Violent crackdown is useful in the face of immediate domestic threats, such as protests. However, violence may increase the state's criminal liability, reduce its legitimacy, violate human rights treaties, and further intensify mobilization against the regime. Therefore, states are more likely to use administrative crackdown, especially in dealing with long-term threats, such as when NGOs influence electoral politics. I test this theory using an original data set of administrative crackdowns on NGOs, as well as violent crackdown on NGO activists, across all countries from 1990 to 2013. To shed light on the strategic decision between violent or administrative crackdown, and how states may perceive threats from domestic and international NGOs differently, I provide a case study from India. I conclude by discussing the implications of this crackdown for the use of civil society actors by the international community, as well as donors and citizens in the global South.
... This conclusion is in keeping with the growing literature on authoritarian governance of civil society, which demonstrates that autocracies are interested less in suppressing civil initiatives than in controlling them, including for the purpose of a regime's own legitimation (Lorch & Bunk, 2016;Richter & Hatch, 2013). Access to resources under these conditions is among the principal factors in organizations' survival, and an authoritarian state's manipulation of the rules of access represents a means of both controlling civil society organizations and fragmenting the community (Dupuy et al., 2015;Hsu, 2010;Yu, 2016). ...
... Federal Law No. 121-FZ "On amendments to specific legal acts of the Russian Federation with regard to regulation of activities of nonprofit organizations performing functions of 'foreign agents,'" 20 June 2012. 2. A study of changes in the civil society of Ethiopia after the adoption of a similar law shows that the depopulation of the "NGO on paper" was the most visible(Dupuy et al., 2015). 3. See further, for example, the history of court opposition of the Perm Civil Chamber and the Procurator of the Perm region (Tikhonovich, 2013). ...
Since the 2000s, the St. Petersburg LGBTQI+ movement has increasingly become part of the transnational human rights movement. Taking part in transnational networks and receiving financial and moral support from them have been vital both for the establishment of the Russian LGBTQI+ movement and its sustainability. Meanwhile, the movement has become manifold and multidimensional, consisting of various actors involved in organizations and self-organizing activist groups. This chapter examines the ways in which self-organizing groups in St. Petersburg that have only periodic funding for their activities—or no funding at all—acquire, employ, and develop symbolic resources. I analyze their relationships to well-established and mostly foreign-funded LGBTQI+ organizations as well as the types of resources from which they benefit and the ways in which those resources are provided.
... This conclusion is in keeping with the growing literature on authoritarian governance of civil society, which demonstrates that autocracies are interested less in suppressing civil initiatives than in controlling them, including for the purpose of a regime's own legitimation (Lorch & Bunk, 2016;Richter & Hatch, 2013). Access to resources under these conditions is among the principal factors in organizations' survival, and an authoritarian state's manipulation of the rules of access represents a means of both controlling civil society organizations and fragmenting the community (Dupuy et al., 2015;Hsu, 2010;Yu, 2016). ...
... Federal Law No. 121-FZ "On amendments to specific legal acts of the Russian Federation with regard to regulation of activities of nonprofit organizations performing functions of 'foreign agents,'" 20 June 2012. 2. A study of changes in the civil society of Ethiopia after the adoption of a similar law shows that the depopulation of the "NGO on paper" was the most visible(Dupuy et al., 2015). 3. See further, for example, the history of court opposition of the Perm Civil Chamber and the Procurator of the Perm region (Tikhonovich, 2013). ...
This chapter chronicles the organizing efforts of a group of Swedish medical professionals who volunteered on an ad hoc basis to provide health care for refugees in the fall of 2015. We show how different types of resources both enabled and constrained the autonomy of the professionals as they moved under the aegis of established civil society organizations and, as such, became bureaucratized. In the autonomous organizational setting, material resources were central, and professionals negotiated among themselves to establish working norms and guidelines for the acquisition and usage of resources. In the bureaucratized setting, with little to no room for negotiation, human resources were central, and regulations were imposed on the volunteering professionals by the civil society organizations.
... This conclusion is in keeping with the growing literature on authoritarian governance of civil society, which demonstrates that autocracies are interested less in suppressing civil initiatives than in controlling them, including for the purpose of a regime's own legitimation (Lorch & Bunk, 2016;Richter & Hatch, 2013). Access to resources under these conditions is among the principal factors in organizations' survival, and an authoritarian state's manipulation of the rules of access represents a means of both controlling civil society organizations and fragmenting the community (Dupuy et al., 2015;Hsu, 2010;Yu, 2016). ...
... Federal Law No. 121-FZ "On amendments to specific legal acts of the Russian Federation with regard to regulation of activities of nonprofit organizations performing functions of 'foreign agents,'" 20 June 2012. 2. A study of changes in the civil society of Ethiopia after the adoption of a similar law shows that the depopulation of the "NGO on paper" was the most visible(Dupuy et al., 2015). 3. See further, for example, the history of court opposition of the Perm Civil Chamber and the Procurator of the Perm region (Tikhonovich, 2013). ...
This chapter maps the transformation of human resources in Polish institutionalized civil society over the last thirty years. Informed by the supply-side perspective, according to which individuals’ motivations and backgrounds provide the major explanatory variable accounting for the establishment and running of civil society organizations, it focuses on individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to working in civil society rather than on a particular type of organizing. More specifically, the study analyzes cases of Polish domestic and global civic engagement—from the Solidarity movement in the late 1980s to contemporary foreign aid initiatives—in order to determine the factors contributing to the seemingly mutually exclusive trends of internationalization and localization of civic activism in Poland.
... This conclusion is in keeping with the growing literature on authoritarian governance of civil society, which demonstrates that autocracies are interested less in suppressing civil initiatives than in controlling them, including for the purpose of a regime's own legitimation (Lorch & Bunk, 2016;Richter & Hatch, 2013). Access to resources under these conditions is among the principal factors in organizations' survival, and an authoritarian state's manipulation of the rules of access represents a means of both controlling civil society organizations and fragmenting the community (Dupuy et al., 2015;Hsu, 2010;Yu, 2016). ...
... Federal Law No. 121-FZ "On amendments to specific legal acts of the Russian Federation with regard to regulation of activities of nonprofit organizations performing functions of 'foreign agents,'" 20 June 2012. 2. A study of changes in the civil society of Ethiopia after the adoption of a similar law shows that the depopulation of the "NGO on paper" was the most visible(Dupuy et al., 2015). 3. See further, for example, the history of court opposition of the Perm Civil Chamber and the Procurator of the Perm region (Tikhonovich, 2013). ...
This chapter traces the transformation of volunteer work as an organizational resource in the context of the transformation of Russian civil society over the past 30 years. Utilized by voluntary associations as well as by professionalized NGOs, this type of resource can serve as a vehicle for building personal relationships and commitments with corporate partners while also eliciting individual work and financial contributions. By examining a charity organization and a community-based association and a charity organization operating in St. Petersburg since the late 1980s and early 1990s, respectively, this study links the structures and processes that integrate volunteering into the organizational fabric to an overall structure of resource mobilization patterns at the local, national, and transnational levels.
... The Ethiopian government regulatory body crackdown made many humanitarian organizations to close and over 100 being denied permits. Some have appealed to the court with no hope of regaining the permit (Dupuy, Ron & Prakash, 2015). ...
The human resource of any given organization is a determinant of its success or failure. The success of an organization comes in with the performance of its workforce and with sustained financial status. Humanitarian organizations play a significant role in society. A proper human resource (HR) policy in the humanitarian organizations helps it in achieving organizational goals in terms of recruiting the right people, training and developing them, rewarding employees based on performance and making sure there is equal opportunity in the organization. The policy also facilitates a fair reward system that motivates employees to help the organizations meet its goal thereby addressing the societal needs. Most Humanitarian organizations have the policy to guide them achieve their goal but there has been a challenge in terms of following through and implementing HR Policies. The study, sought to determine the effects of reward policy on the performance of employees of Hope International Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The scope of the study was the head-quarter of Hope Ethiopia, which is located in the capital city Addis Ababa. The study adopted a descriptive research design using a target population of 50 employees. Data was collected by use of a questionnaire and analyzed through regression analysis and ANOVA. The results showed significant relationship between reward policy and employee performance at 0.01 percent level of significance. The employees affirmed that the reward policy is fair and transparent. The study recommended a broader review of reward policy for it to be more effective in motivating employees at Hope International for the purpose of attaining a positive employee performance. The study further recommended clear communication of salary scales and grades so that employees in each job grade knew what is expected of them to move to the higher level.
... Regarding the financial situation of Nepalese NGOs, Khieng's (2014) study has suggested that these NGOs face a financial crisis when they heavily rely on external donors for funding if their donors encounter financial constraints. The reliance on external donors discourages NGOs from establishing a robust local resource mobilization base (Dupuy et al., 2015). Consequently, when the availability of external funds decreased, it deepened the financial crisis for externally dependent Nepalese NGOs. ...
This paper explores the financial sustainability of Nepalese NGOs, drawing insights from the resource dependency theory. The primary data were collected from the key informant interviews (N=15) with executives of development NGOs. The data were analyzed thematically based on Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework using NVivo software. The findings showed that internal funding sources could not support NGOs financially. They were found to have suffered from resource constraints due to a decline in external funding opportunities. NGOs also appeared weak in adopting strategies necessary to maintain financial sustainability. The findings indicated the possibility of further resource constraints if the government and NGOs do not consider diversifying funding sources. Future studies should explore the internal financial management strategies of NGOs for maintaining their financial sustainability by employing case studies.
... Ethiopia deployed similar tactics, restricting INGOs from working with certain communities due to "political sensitivity." Such tactics leveraged judicial action to force INGOs into service delivery changes out of fear of legal entanglements (Dupuy, Ron, and Prakash 2015). ...
... The theory further explains who will receive the benefits or burdens of regulation, what form of regulation it will take and the effect of regulation upon allocation of resources. Kendra, James and Aseem, (2014) observed that the governments are key pillars to the NGO environment and the scholars must appreciate the important role of the state regulation in defining the political space granted to the NGOs by shaping the emergence, sustenance, strategy and collapse of these organizations. The NGO coordination board is charged with the responsibility to ensure there is efficient regulation, policy advisory and capacity development of the NGOs in Kenya. ...
... In the example of Russia and its 'foreign agents' law, Tysiachniouk et al. (2018) found that environmental NGOs and their Western donors enacted new survival strategies such as compliance, informalization, or transferring resources to informal organizations in their networks to avoid the formal punishment or complete closure. Drawing on organization ecology literature, another study on Ethiopia illustrated that the 'new regulatory offensive' brought an end to the majority of one-person NGOs and Western-funded human rights groups and pushed others to generalize their activities, moving away from sensitive issues (Dupuy et al. 2015). Scholars suggest that further research is needed to identify how states attempt 'shape the emergence, sustenance, strategy, and demise of NGOs' in various contexts to be able to draw generalizations (Dupuy et al. 2015, 444;Chaudhry 2022). ...
Whereas nearly half of the world’s countries have imposed restrictions on civil society organizations (CSOs) since the 1990s, little is known about how those regulations reshape the civic space and actors. This article delves into the patterns of transformation of organizational behaviours of traditional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and new CSOs before and following the enforcement of coercive state policies against civil society in Azerbaijan. By applying the theory of new institutionalism, the article first analyzes the development of post-independence Azerbaijani civil society and the vulnerabilities thereof. Then, it uses original data to portray CSOs’ survival strategies in the face of institutional pressures – operationalizing Christine Oliver’s typology of strategic responses. The findings underscore dual unintended consequences. First, extant and emerging democracy-oriented Azerbaijani CSOs have pursued existence outside the regulative institutional control of the authoritarian regime since 2015. Second, the crackdown brought about marked de-NGOization of civil society while engendering alternative modes of organization in civic associations.
... Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), global enterprises, and international advocacy groups are all examples of non-state actors. These players have multiple avenues for impacting global politics, including lobbying, public opinion, and direct action (Dupuy, Ron, & Prakash, 2015;Rhodes & Hart, 2014). Academics in the field of international relations investigate the impact of non-state players on global governance and the search for solutions to global problems. ...
This paper meticulously dissects the multifarious subfields that comprise the expansive domain of political science. It furnishes an erudite exposition of political theory, public policy, international relations, comparative politics, political behavior, political economy, environmental politics, gender and politics, global governance, human rights, political communication, and security studies. Each of these subfields is scrutinized with a discerning eye, extracting nuanced theoretical constructs and practical exemplifications drawn from diverse global contexts. In the realm of political theory, the paper embarks on a journey through ten pivotal political doctrines, unraveling their practical manifestations in the real world. The intricate tapestry of public policy is laid bare through a meticulous analysis of policy-making procedures, thereby offering profound insights into the confluence of governance and policymaking. International relations are elucidated by probing the intricate interplay between states and international actors, encompassing non-state entities and global organizations. Comparative politics, in turn, casts its gaze upon the intricate political systems and structures of regions as varied as South America, Africa, and Europe, fostering an understanding of the rich tapestry of global governance paradigms. Political behavior is unveiled through a meticulous examination of the attitudes, convictions, and actions of political actors. Political economics unfurls the nexus between politics and economics, probing the influence of economic policies on political systems. Environmental politics delves into the intricate politics surrounding the environment, delineating the repercussions of environmental regulations on political landscapes. This paper thus offers a perspicacious overview of diverse political science subfields, buttressed by real-world illustrations. While it undeniably enriches our understanding, its inherent limitations necessitate further inquiry to plumb the depths of these complex domains. Nonetheless, this study serves as an invaluable resource, bestowing profound insights that can edify scholars, policymakers, and the informed citizenry alike.
... In fact, this is exactly what happened in response to the Ethiopia's 2010 foreign funding restrictions, which specifically targeted rights groups. According to Dupuy et al. (2015), 90% of local rights groups (113 out of the previous 125) ceased to exist as a direct result of the foreign funding restriction (433). Similarly, following India's 2010 foreign funding law, which has since been amended in 2020 and made even more restrictive, foreign funding fell 60% from 2016 to 2017, and between 2011 and 2017, the registrations of over 18,000 NGOs were canceled (Chauhan, 2017). ...
... Ethiopia held competitive national elections in 2005 in which opposition parties made significant electoral gains that threatened the ruling party. These opposition parties were strongly linked to and funded by diaspora groups, while internationally funded groups carried out election monitoring, voter education, and human rights reporting (Dupuy et al., 2015). In 2009, the Ethiopian government enacted the Charities and Societies Proclamation prohibiting organizations receiving more than 10% of foreign-sourced funds from working on politically sensitive issues such as human rights, democratization, conflict resolution, and elections. ...
Why have most African countries not achieved greater political liberalization? What explains the lack of progress toward the ideals of liberal democracy across the region? This book advances ongoing debates on democratic backsliding with specific reference to Africa. In examining how incumbent leaders in African countries attempt to contain societal pressures for greater democracy, the chapters explain how governments go beyond the standard tools of manipulation, such as electoral fraud and political violence, to keep democracy from unfolding in their countries. The book emphasizes two distinct strategies that governments frequently use to reinforce their hold on power, but which remain overlooked in conventional analyses; —the legal system and the international system. It—documents how governments employ the law to limit the scope of action among citizens and civil society activists struggling to expand democratic liberties, including the use of constitutional provisions and the courts. The work further demonstrates how governments use their role in international relations to neutralize pressure from external actors, including sovereigntist claims against foreign intervention and selective implementation of donor-promoted policies. While pro-democracy actors can also employ these legal and international strategies to challenge incumbents, in some cases to prevent democratic backsliding, the book shows why and how incumbents have enjoyed institutional advantages when implementing these strategies through the six country case studies of Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
... See also Moyo (2010) and Bratton (1989). to and funded by diaspora groups, while internationally funded groups carried out election monitoring, voter education, and human rights reporting (Dupuy et al., 2015). In 2009, the Ethiopian government enacted the Charities and Societies Proclamation prohibiting organizations receiving more than 10% of foreign-sourced funds from working on politically sensitive issues such as human rights, democratization, conflict resolution, and elections. ...
Why have most African countries not achieved greater political liberalization? What explains the lack of progress toward the ideals of liberal democracy across the region? This book advances ongoing debates on democratic backsliding with specific reference to Africa. In examining how incumbent leaders in African countries attempt to contain societal pressures for greater democracy, the chapters explain how governments go beyond the standard tools of manipulation, such as electoral fraud and political violence, to keep democracy from unfolding in their countries. The book emphasizes two distinct strategies that governments frequently use to reinforce their hold on power, but which remain overlooked in conventional analyses; —the legal system and the international system. It—documents how governments employ the law to limit the scope of action among citizens and civil society activists struggling to expand democratic liberties, including the use of constitutional provisions and the courts. The work further demonstrates how governments use their role in international relations to neutralize pressure from external actors, including sovereigntist claims against foreign intervention and selective implementation of donor-promoted policies. While pro-democracy actors can also employ these legal and international strategies to challenge incumbents, in some cases to prevent democratic backsliding, the book shows why and how incumbents have enjoyed institutional advantages when implementing these strategies through the six country case studies of Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
... Between 2009 and March 2019, a 'Charities and Societies Proclamation' made it illegal in Ethiopia for NGOs receiving more than 10% of foreign funding to engage with such issues (ICNL, 2019). In the absence of domestic sources of funding, most of the civil society ecosystem dealing with democracy issues dwindled or turned their attention to other areas of work, hence increasing the leeway of the ruling coalition to conduct non-competitive elections (Dupuy et al., 2015). Making NGOs illegal also prevents them from playing a role during elections as national observers in polling stations, opening up possibilities for unreported, last-minute vote-rigging (see below). ...
... This can lead to higher transaction costs and divert resources from the end-beneficiaries. Sometimes, this can lead foreign or foreign-funded NGOs to renounce or switch their work from the most politically sensitive issues just to survive (Dupuy et al., 2015(Dupuy et al., , 2016. ...
Building on previous literature on corporate behavior, we examine the impact of an nongovernmental organization’s (NGO) foreign status on the moral judgment of its actions in a host country. Individuals in Algeria ( N = 450) rated the ethicality of analogous ethical and unethical actions of domestic (Algerian) and foreign NGOs (European). For ethical actions, a foreign NGO was considered less positively than a local NGO for two scenarios out of three. For unethical actions, a foreign NGO was judged more severely in one scenario only. These results suggest that foreign status can influence moral judgment in a way that is consistent with liability-of-foreignness effect predictions. A foreign-sounding denomination can put an NGO at a relative disadvantage compared with its domestic counterpart. Consequently, the denomination choice should be carefully examined.
... There is evidence that INGO restrictions have the intended effect. Dupuy et al. (2015) find that most local human rights NGOs disappeared from Ethiopia after the 2009 Charities and Societies Proclamation. In Bangladesh and Zambia, restrictions made crossborder NGO collaborations on human rights and other causes increasingly fragile and their advocacy more tempered (Fransen et al., 2021). ...
Governments have increasingly adopted laws restricting the activities of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) within their borders. Such laws are often intended to curb the ability of critical INGOs to discover and communicate government failures and abuses to domestic and international audiences. They can also have the unintended effect of reducing the presence and activities of INGOs working on health issues and deprive local health workers and organisations of access to resources, knowledge, and other forms of support. This study assesses whether legislative INGO restrictions are associated with fewer health INGOs in a wide range of countries and with the ability of those countries to mitigate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost because of 21 disease categories between 1993 and 2017. The findings indicate that restrictive legislation hampered efforts by civil society to lighten the global burden of disease and had adverse side effects on the health of citizens worldwide.
In response to political and funding pressures, civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Global South are seeking to generate more funding from local sources. This article explores whether domestic resource mobilisation can also open up civic space by reviewing the evidence on the relationship between domestic resource mobilisation and civic space in the Global South. This article adopts a scoping review methodology and follows a literature search and screening process
where 25 studies were synthesised. In addition, we draw on primary data from interviews with CSO representatives in Burkina Faso, India, Ethiopia, and Kenya to examine whether and how domestic resource mobilisation can improve the operating environment for civil society. We find that domestic resource mobilisation enhances CSOs’ legitimacy and credibility at the grassroots by increasing downward accountability, albeit with trade-offs. CSOs use domestic resource mobilisation as a
platform for engaging citizens and opening spaces for collective action, which increases civic participation and demands for social accountability. We further find that political actors are more receptive towards CSOs with a local base, although this receptiveness depends on the context and the functions of CSOs. Finally, we identify some potentially negative aspects of domestic resource mobilisation for civic space.
The paper aims to scrutinize the nexus between development aid, economic growth, poverty, and inclusion in Africa in the short and long run. After compiling the theoretical and empirical foundation of aid effectiveness literature, the statistical analysis is conducted in three scenarios. First, a panel data analysis was conducted from 1977 to 2018 for 34 African countries to explore the interface between Official Development Assistance (ODA) and economic growth in the long run. The second scenario presents ODA's short-term and long-term marginal effects on poverty reduction. The last scenario examines the direct effect of ODA on inclusive development. The statistical results show that aid effectiveness varies across nations. In the short-run, out of the 34 countries, only five countries have a positive marginal efficiency of ODA in terms of economic growth. However, only in one country (Nigeria) is the marginal efficiency of ODA arguably found to be positive in the long-run. The poverty elasticity of ODA is found to be negative in all countries. Finally, the random effects regression shows that ODA arguably contributes negatively to inclusion. Multiple factors may cause statistically negative relationships and should not be ignored due to the suspicion of an endogeneity problem. This is the unique selling point of this paper, as it discusses the potential causes. Statistical findings may not fully explain aid effectiveness because benefits and drawbacks may differ from national interests and project to project. Furthermore, aid may have different long-and short-term consequences. Given all the limitations, the statistical analyses in this paper show that development aid should have strategic crosscutting focus areas inter alia human development, technology, environment, demographic change, good governance, trade, and economic equity.
Social enterprises (SEs) play a pivotal role in addressing the shortcomings of government, business, and the third sector. However, SEs operating in developing countries face a different environment than their counterparts in developed societies due to immature institutional environments. This necessitates the examination of alternative pathways to organizational legitimacy. Through a comparative analysis of two Chinese microfinance social enterprises (MSEs), this article examines how these organizations navigate the complexities of legitimacy within their operating environments. Drawing on the stakeholder perspective and the legitimacy literature, this article proposes that the survival and expansion of SEs in developing countries depend on achieving a hybrid legitimacy encompassing institutional, industry, and market dimensions. The proactive strategies adopted by the two MSEs, such as forging strategic alliances with local authorities, engaging in industry-recognized reputational activities, and cultivating markets through philanthropic efforts, are instrumental in securing key stakeholders' support and resources. These legitimacy-building efforts are critical to the survival of SEs and essential to achieving their dual mandate of financial sustainability and social impact. This article adds to the existing body of knowledge by delineating the multiple sources of legitimacy that are relevant to SEs in developing countries, using China as an example. It also highlights the different outcomes of institutionalist versus strategic approaches to legitimacy-seeking, enriching both academic and practical understandings of SE resilience and growth.
Over the last two decades, governments have increasingly been adopting legislative measures that limit civil society and human rights organizations. While several studies explored the response of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in nondemocratic regimes to such measures, the literature on the response of NGOs in liberal democracies remains scarce. We examine this by analyzing the case of Israel. We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 position holders in 13 human rights NGOs, as well as lengthy ethnographic participant observations in two of these organizations. Our findings show that organizational responses varied significantly, ranging from minor to very significant changes. Furthermore, the direction of these changes was not uniform. While some organizations chose to intensify and radicalize their message, others preferred to depoliticize and appease domestic audiences. We reflect on the possible drivers of such strategic organizational differences and discuss the more general effects of repressive legislation in liberal democracies.
The paper aims to scrutinize the nexus between development aid, economic growth, poverty, and inclusion in Africa in the short and long run. After compiling the theoretical and empirical foundation of aid effectiveness literature, the statistical analysis is conducted in three scenarios. First, a panel data analysis was conducted from 1977 to 2018 for 34 African countries to explore the interface between Official Development Assistance (ODA) and economic growth in the long run. The second scenario presents ODA's short-term and long-term marginal effects on poverty reduction. The last scenario examines the direct effect of ODA on inclusive development. The statistical results show that aid effectiveness varies across nations. In the short-run, out of the 34 countries, only five countries have a positive marginal efficiency of ODA in terms of economic growth. However, only in one country (Nigeria) is the marginal efficiency of ODA arguably found to be positive in the long-run. The poverty elasticity of ODA is found to be negative in all countries. Finally, the random effects regression shows that ODA arguably contributes negatively to inclusion. Multiple factors may cause statistically negative relationships and should not be ignored due to the suspicion of an endogeneity problem. This is the unique selling point of this paper, as it discusses the potential causes. Statistical findings may not fully explain aid effectiveness because benefits and drawbacks may differ from national interests and project to project. Furthermore, aid may have different long-and short-term consequences. Given all the limitations, the statistical analyses in this paper show that development aid should have strategic crosscutting focus areas inter alia human development, technology, environment, demographic change, good governance, trade, and economic equity.
Global trends show that the civic space is shrinking. Specifically, civic space for Civil Society Organizations draws more attention. The shrinkage is caused by increased authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. Experience shows that advocacy based Non‐Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are more affected. The situation in Tanzania is comparable to other parts of the world. However, literature in Tanzania does not establish experiences to characterize the civic space of advocacy NGOs and does not explore the effects of existing civic space on advocacy NGOs. Drawing on Tanzania, this study examines NGOs experience and the effects of civic space on their roles. This study is anchored in interpretivism and case studies, following a qualitative path. Four NGOs and 10 activists were included. Interviews and documentary reviews were used to collect data, and a thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that the civic spaces for advocacy NGOs is changing, unpredictable and contested. There has been negative and positive experiences due to change of political regimes. This causes advocacy NGOs to fail to have long‐term plans, increased fear, loose focus and fail to emerge as strong democratic institutions. NGOs must push for, and the government should accept constitutional, and legal changes to ensure NGOs effective functioning. This specific focus could be extended to other parts of Africa, Asia and Europe, where advocacy NGOs face the same challenges.
What is the nonprofit sector and why does it exist? Collecting the writing of some of the most creative minds in the field of nonprofit studies, this book challenges our traditional understanding of the role and purpose of the nonprofit sector. It reflects on the ways in which new cultural and economic shifts bring existing assumptions into question and offers new conceptualizations of the nonprofit sector that will inform, provoke, and inspire. Nonprofit organization and activity is an enormously important part of social, cultural, and economic life around the world, but our conceptualization of their place in modern society is far from complete. Reimagining Nonprofits provides fresh insights that are necessary for understanding nonprofit organizations and sectors in the 21st century.
Civil society space is constantly shifting, either negatively (e.g., shrinking, narrowing) or positively (e.g., expanding). These shifts are predominantly attributed to actions by central government actors, such as the implementation and enforcement of laws. Emergent work, however, also recognizes that in the context of the Global South, the international community can take actions to shrink or expand civil society space. Recently, Ghana in West Africa—known for its democratic stability—has introduced significant legislative and administrative reforms aimed at regulating the NGO sector. We interview 20 Ghanaian service‐providing NGOs to explore perceived shifts in civil society space and the impacts of these shifts, as well as strategies service‐providing NGOs are employing in response to shifting civic space. Findings identify perceived shifts in civic space caused by international actors and the Ghanaian government, as well as strategies for combating and mitigating shifting space.
How do civil society organisations (CSOs) and the state interact in non‐democratic settings? Non‐democratic regimes often meet civil society activism with repression, however, on an every‐day basis contestation and control take more diverse forms. To capture how CSOs bargain with and contest state power, as well as how states police CSOs, this article draws on the case of Ethiopia (1991–2018). It analyses different types of interactions between service providing CSOs and state actors and studies when and how CSOs have been able to place their demands on state actors and when and to what extend their demands have been adhered to. Looking beyond the absence of public protests against the ruling government by CSOs, the article argues that CSOs, including those formally aligned to or co‐opted by the regime, have been resourceful in devising strategies that promote the interests of their members and beneficiaries. Defying co‐optation, they have constantly negotiated space through a combination of cooperation, coexistence and contestation.
Local governance comprises a set of institutions, mechanisms and processes through which citizens and their groups can articulate their interests and needs and mediate their differences. The participation of citizens in governance is one of the underlying components of democracy. Engaging citizens in the act of governance engenders transparency, improves accountability and public resource management and brings about good policy outcomes, development and the social well-being of citizens. When done effectively, it encourages inclusiveness and cohesiveness, speeds up problem-solving through community initiatives and generally improves the effectiveness of local authorities. This Report is an exploratory study which adopted various strategies to try to understand the issues, perspectives and results from citizen participation in local governance across various countries and regions in Africa.
The Dissertation’s overarching goal is to offer an analytical tool for initiatives aimed at mainstreaming inclusive development in sub-Saharan Africa so that relevant theories, principles, key driving factors, and policy instruments of inclusive development are well comprehended. First, the dissertation focuses on compiling pertinent theories of inclusive development. It also tries to illustrate how social systems contribute to exclusion and the fragility of nations. Additionally, it empirically demonstrates the significance of certain driving factors of inclusive development. It also aims to provide some theoretical foundations for strengthening and expanding regional integration in Africa, to ensure inclusive decision-making at supra national level. Finally, seven policy domains are identified to mainstream the virtue of inclusiveness and its principles. i) Promoting “right-based” development approach, particularly those approaches that are endorsing on economic equity and social justice; ii) Focusing on the exclusionary role of hierarchical social structures and economic inequality as root causes of exclusion; iii) Capitalizing on the demographic dividend through inclusive labour market; iv) Effectively utilizing official development assistance (ODA); v) Promoting social protection programs; vi) Deepening and broadening African regional integration; and vii) Adapting the so-called social market economy development path.
The effect of international aid on the economic development of recipient countries has not been conclusive, nor is aid effectiveness metrics simple and robust. This paper scrutinizes the nexus of official development assistance (ODA) and inclusive development. The data covers 34 African countries for the period 1991 to 2018. The simple OLS regression shows a negative association between ODA and inclusive development. Numerous researchers have claimed the same thing about the relationship between foreign aid and economic growth. However, paper statistically proves that the negative association between ODA and inclusive development is due to an omitted variable. Accordingly, this paper's unique addition is that it uses the instrumental variable in the two-stage linear square (2SLS) regression model and claims that ODA is a statistically significant positive determinant of inclusive development and ODA should be channelled to climate change, demographic pressure, and CPIA. ملخص مقاييس أن كما حاسما، املتلقية للبلدان االقتصادية التنمية على الدولية املساعدات تأثير يكن لم وهذه ومتينة. بسيطة ليست املعونة فعالية اإلنمائية املساعدة بين العالقة في تمحص البحثية الورقة البيانات وتغطي الشاملة. والتنمية الرسمية 34 بينن ما للفترة أفريقية دولة 1991 و 2018 ظهر ُ وي. والتنمية الرسمية اإلنمائية املساعدة بين سلبيا ا ً ارتباط الصغرى املربعات ملخطط البسيط االنحدار اد وقد الشاملة. والنمو الخارجية املساعدات بين العالقة حول يء الش نفس الباحثين من عدد عى
Spatial differentiation of non-governmental aid provided in Madagascar This paper assesses the correlation, if any, between the presence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and improvements in quality of life in the regions of Madagascar. The research work involved several stages. First, a database of NGO activity in 2015–2019 was compiled. This included both secular NGOs and aid projects run by missionary centers. Second, 648 locations of where these entities were active were identified and superposed on the maps of the 2015–2019 Human Development Index changes in the various regions. Spatial analyses did not show any relationship between non-governmental aid and quality of life. The southern regions were especially interesting. This is where environmental conditions have been least favorable historically and where the HDI (notably in the Atsimo-Andrefana region) recorded a significant decrease in the analyzed years (despite substantial NGO activity). Zarys treści: Celem omawianych badań jest sprawdzenie, czy istnieje związek między poziomem obiektywnej jakości życia w regionach Madagaskaru a obecnością na ich obszarze pozarządowej pomocy rozwojowej. Prace obejmowały kilka etapów. W pierwszej kolejności opracowano bazy danych zawierające informacje o projektach, które prowadzone były w latach 2015–2019 w ramach pozarządowej pomocy rozwojowej (to jest pomocy pochodzącej od organizacji pozarządowych i placówek misyjnych prowadzących działalność pomocową). Następnie dokładne lokalizacje projektów (648) naniesione zostały na mapy, prezentujące zmiany poziomu obiektywnej jakości życia (wyrażonej za pomocą wskaźnika rozwoju społecznego, HDI) w regionach. Analiza przestrzenna nie wykazała związku między obecnością pozarządowej pomocy rozwojowej a poziomem obiektywnej jakości życia. Uwagę przykuwa sytuacja południowych regionów, w których warunki środowiskowe są najtrudniejsze, i gdzie, szczególnie w regionie Atsimo-Andrefana, wskaźnik rozwoju społecznego odnotował w badanych latach wyraźny spadek (mimo stosunkowo dużej obecności pozarządowej pomocy rozwojowej na tych terenach).
Public opinion polls conducted over the past five years point to a downward trend in African citizens’ support for civil society and media freedoms. This is despite the flourishing of civil society and media actors as well as the expansion of democracy on the continent in the post-Cold War period. What explains this downward trend in public support? We use cross-national polling data from the Afrobarometer survey to examine the decline in public support for freedoms of association and media between 2011 and 2018 in the African context, a continent that has experienced decades of democratization waves and pressure. Using a multilevel statistical modelling approach, we analyse the influence of government repression of civil society and media actors on citizen support for enhanced government control over freedoms of association and the media. Our study shows that the government’s repressive actions against civil society and media actors increases the probability that citizens will support control over association and media freedoms. Concerningly, this suggests government clampdowns on democratic rights influences the African publics to support such clampdowns, potentially legitimizing them.
A crackdown on the activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has recently swept the globe. When faced with increased restrictions, how do NGOs respond? We argue there is a curvilinear relationship between increases in NGO repression and the conflict-to-cooperative nature of NGO interactions with a government. On one end of the spectrum, when civil society repression is limited or nonexistent, NGOs have many reasons to be cooperative with the government. As NGO repression increases, we should see NGOs take more of a conflictual stance, publicly voicing their displeasure and bringing attention to the abuses and deficiencies they see within the regime. As NGO repression continues to increase, however, there will be a tipping point at which the NGOs that remain in the country will once again take a more cooperative tack with the government. We use a quantitative event data approach to examine the implications of our arguments.
Urban bias theory predicts urban areas of developing countries receive disproportionately more resources than rural areas due to their concentration of numerically large, politically important “vote banks.” This has not been the case in Bangladesh. This study finds that this variation occurs due to non‐state providers (NSPs) changing the landscape of resource allocation. Operating on the premise that state control leads to more services in urban areas, urban bias fails to account for NSPs as critical service providers. Employing a grounded theory strategy to explore urban‐rural dynamics in service provision and to build on urban bias theory, this research highlights interactions between state and non‐state actors. It argues that spatialized political networks, networks of formal and informal leadership more difficult to access in urban areas, influence the locality of service provision. Though NSPs recognize increased need in urban areas of Bangladesh, their interventions in those areas remain peripheral due to differing structures of government accountability and differing levels of community acceptance facilitating these networks. The need for NSPs to adapt their activities to restrictive governance mechanisms reflects the changing space for NSPs in the context of semi‐democratic regimes.
Aid on health, education and economy provided by Small Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) in Africa should focus on transmitting transparency, responsibility and efficacy in their work concerning NPOs’ downward accountability for beneficiaries, as beneficiaries are one of the most important NPO stakeholders. This research focuses on NPOs’ downward accountability for beneficiaries, as beneficiaries are one of the most important NPO stakeholders where researchers have not focused thoroughly. A survey was designed and divided into various issues of accountability and their impact on the beneficiaries’ perception of economic improvement. The multivariate analysis obtained interesting results, showing that beneficiaries have a positive perception of NPOs’ aid to their families and village and find that the NPO discloses its objectives clearly and has high networking activity. However, they believe that the NPO should be more flexible and align its work more closely with local and public policy in the area. They also believe that the NPO should improve publication and dissemination of information on its objectives, activities and results. Based on these findings, small NPOs should receive more training in protocols about accountability issues to improve performance, as the majority of NPOs fail to use accountability outcomes to improve performance.
Women-led civil society activism contributed to the adoption of the WPS Agenda and the Security Council’s recognition of these organisations as key WPS actors. However, civil society organisations (CSOs) are often allocated tokenistic roles during the national implementation of WPS resolutions. Drawing on Sabatier and Jenkin-Smith’s Advocacy Coalition Framework, this study analyses 35 semi-structured interviews and surveys with CSOs and state WPS actors in Nigeria to explore the opportunities provided and the methods used by the Nigerian government to engage civil society in processes to implement UNSCR 2242 as political measures. The article highlights that UNSCR 2242 can be used by CSOs to advocate for political participation within processes to implement CT/CVE measures. However, the implementation of the Resolution exposes these actors to greater risks in the domestic context. Further, operationalising WPS as a policy provides insights into how CSOs utilise their interaction within political sub-systems to influence policy processes.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are a core component of a robust civil society and operate in a wide variety of sectors, ranging from service delivery to political advocacy. However, research has yet to systematically investigate whether the impact of government repression varies across NGO activities. We hypothesize that advocacy NGOs are more affected by repression than those in service delivery. Surveying 176 employees from 106 NGOs in Cambodia, we employ a conjoint experiment to examine how the level of repression affects a task crucial to NGOs’ survival: obtaining funding via grant applications. We find that while increases in the severity of repression appear to have a stronger deterrent effect for advocacy NGOs, repression has a large deterrent effect on service NGOs as well. Interviews and text analysis of open-ended questions suggest that local officials target both advocacy and service delivery NGOs, but for different reasons. Our findings speak to the spread of authoritarianism and the challenges NGOs face in countries with closing civic spaces.
In this unique longitudinal examination of the "third sector" of the economy, the authors explore why, in a major U. S. metropolitan area, some nonprofit organizations grew while others shrank during the 14-year period of the study. The authors' striking conclusions contribute to an understanding of how organizations juggle commitments to donors, grantmakers, members, and service populations, while trying to keep costs down and worker morale high. In the face of these often conflicting tasks, the study demonstrates that it is ultimately an organization's coping strategies that keep it afloat.
Local human rights organizations (LHROs) are crucial allies in international efforts to promote human rights. Without support from organized civil society, efforts by transnational human rights reformers would have little effect. Despite their importance, we have little systematic information on the correlates of public trust in LHROs. To fill this gap, we conducted key informant interviews with 233 human rights workers from sixty countries, and then administered a new Human Rights Perceptions Poll to representative public samples in Mexico (n = 2,400), Morocco (n = 1,100), India (n = 1,680), and Colombia (n = 1,699). Our data reveal that popular trust in local rights groups is consistently associated with greater respondent familiarity with the rights discourse, actors, and organizations, along with greater skepticism toward state institutions and agents. The evidence fails to provide consistent, strong support for other commonly held expectations, however, including those about the effects of foreign funding, socioeconomic status, and transnational connections.
Hafner-Burton, Emilie and James Ron. (2012) The Latin Bias: Regions, the Anglo-American Media, and Human Rights. International Studies Quarterly, doi: 10.1111/isqu.12023 © 2012 International Studies Association
Media attention is unevenly allocated across global human rights problems, prompting anger, frustration, and recrimination in the international system. This article demonstrates that from 1981 to 2000, three leading Anglo-American media sources disproportionately covered Latin American abuses, in human rights terms, as compared to other world regions. This “Latin Human Rights Bias” runs counter to broader trends within the Anglo-American general coverage of foreign news, where Latin America’s share of reporting is far smaller. The Bias is partially explained by the region’s proximity to the United States (US), its relevance to US policy debates, and by path dependency. A significant portion of the Latin Bias remains unexplained, however, despite our best attempts to rigorously model explanations offered by leading Western journalists. These findings suggest that geographic regions are an important factor in the media’s perception of global human rights problems and that both human rights policymakers and scholars may be inappropriately drawing general lessons from regionally specific and biased patterns. We conclude with suggestions for future research.
A substantial section of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the global South depend on foreign funds to conduct their operations. This paper explores how the availability of foreign funding affects their downward accountability, abilities to effect social change, and their relative influence in relation to traditional grassroots, membership‐based organizations (GROs), which tend not to receive such funding. Drawing on a case study of Nicaragua, we challenge the notion that foreign funding of domestic NGOs leads to the evolution of civil society organizations, which have incentives and abilities to organize the marginalized sections of society in ways to effect social change in their interests. Instead, we find that foreign funding and corresponding professionalization of the NGO sector creates dualism among domestic civil society organizations. Foreign funding enhances the visibility and prestige of the “modern” NGO sector over traditional GROs. This has grave policy implications because foreign funded NGOs tend to be more accountable to donors than beneficiaries and are more focused on service delivery than social change oriented advocacy.
This article develops a political economy approach to the study of contemporary transnational networks. We argue that many aspects of International Organization (IO) and International Non Governmental Organization (NGO) behavior can be explained by materialist analysis and an examination of the incentives and constraints produced by the transnational sector’s institutional environment.
We advance two theoretical propositions. First, the growing number of IOs and INGOs within a given transnational sector increases uncertainty, competition, and insecurity for all organizations in that sector. This proposition disputes the liberal view that INGO proliferation is, in and of it- self, evidence of a robust global civil society. Second, we suggest that the marketization of many IO and INGO activities—particularly the use of com- petitive tenders and renewable contracting—generates incentives that produce dysfunctional outcomes. This claim disputes the popular assumption that market-based institutions in the transnational sector increase INGO efficiency and effectiveness.
In advancing these arguments, we do not criticize the normative agendas, moral character, or nominal goals of individual transnational groups. Rather we suggest that dysfunctional organizational behavior is likely to be a rational response to systematic and predictable institutional pressures. In many cases, uncooperative local actors will take advantage of the transnational sector’s perverse incentives to further their own opportunistic agendas.
Departing from the population-level emphasis of density dependence research in organizational ecology, the authors examine how organizational niches within populations influence patterns of competition and mutalism. Organizational niches characterize intrapopulation variation in productive capacities and resource requirements and are operationalized for a population of day care centers (DCCs) based on the ages of children they are licensed to enroll. The authors find competitive effects of overlap density, the aggregate overlap of a DCC's organizational niche with those of all others, and mutualistic effects of nonoverlap density, the aggregate nonoverlap, which are strongest among neighboring DCCs. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for studying organizational population dynamics.
What influences the Northern media's coverage of events and abuses in explicit human rights terms? Do international NGOs have an impact, and, if so, when are they most effective? This article addresses these questions with regression analysis of human rights reporting by The Economist and Newsweek from 1986 to 2000, covering 145 countries. First, it finds that these two media sources cover abuses in human rights terms more frequently when they occur in countries with higher levels of state repression, economic development, population, and Amnesty International attention. There is also some evidence that political openness, number of battle-deaths, and civil societies affect coverage, although these effects were not robust. Second, it finds that Amnesty International's press releases appear to have less impact on media coverage when discussing abuses in countries that are central to the media's zone of concern. Indeed, Amnesty's press advocacy may be more effective when addressing violations in lesser-noticed countries. The article attributes this to the saturation of coverage of abuses in highly mediatized countries. Cumulative attention by multiple journalists and others raises a country's media profile but also makes it more difficult for any one voice to be heard. The authors conclude that Amnesty's press advocacy may have greater media impact when focusing on abuses in countries located away from the media's core areas of concern. Overall, the authors are encouraged by the Northern media's sensitivity to actual patterns of repression and to Amnesty's lobbying, since both indicate that the media is potentially a useful ally in efforts to combat abuses worldwide. Yet, the discouraging effects of poverty on the media's human rights coverage are cause for concern.
Diaspora groups link processes of globalisation and transnational migration to homeland politics and conflicts. In some cases, diaspora groups produced by a specific set of traumatic memories create ‘conflict-generated diasporas’ that sustain and often amplify their strong sense of symbolic attachment to the homeland. Conflict-generated diasporas tend to be less willing to compromise and therefore reinforce and exacerbate the protractedness of homeland conflicts. Economists have focused on the links between remittances and civil war. Beyond resources, however, conflict-generated diasporas frequently have a prominent role in framing conflict issues and defining what is politically acceptable. Diaspora groups created by conflict and sustained by traumatic memories tend to compromise less and therefore reinforce and exacerbate the protracted nature of conflicts. The 2005 political opening and subsequent crackdown in Ethiopia illustrates how this diaspora shaped recent political developments and points to broader patterns of transnational linkages among diasporas and homeland political processes.
Taking a fresh look at the impact of non-state actors on world politics and on the foreign policies of states, this book revives the debate on transnational relations which started in the 1970s. This debate withered away in the face of state-centered approaches, but this book's new approach emphasizes the interaction of states and transnational actors, arguing that domestic structures of the state as well as international institutions mediate the policy influence of transnational actors. Empirical chapters examine the European Economic and Monetary Union, US-Japanese transnational relations, multinational corporations in East Asia, Soviet and Russian security policy, democratization in Eastern Europe, and ivory management in Africa. The book concludes with chapters discussing the theoretical implications of the findings in the empirical studies.
Aiding Violence? The Development Enterprise and Ethno-National Conflict - Volume 95 - Peter Uvin
At the start of 1988, the World Bank began an institution-wide effort to expand its work with NGOs. This chapter discusses what the Bank's recent outreach to NGOs has achieved, draws lessons from emerging experience, and projects how the Bank's work with NGOs is likely to evolve to the end of the century. -from Author
Long a fruitful area of scrutiny for students of organizations, the study of institutions is undergoing a renaissance in contemporary social science. This volume offers, for the first time, both often-cited foundation works and the latest writings of scholars associated with the "institutional" approach to organization analysis. In their introduction, the editors discuss points of convergence and disagreement with institutionally oriented research in economics and political science, and locate the "institutional" approach in relation to major developments in contemporary sociological theory. Several chapters consolidate the theoretical advances of the past decade, identify and clarify the paradigm's key ambiguities, and push the theoretical agenda in novel ways by developing sophisticated arguments about the linkage between institutional patterns and forms of social structure. The empirical studies that follow--involving such diverse topics as mental health clinics, art museums, large corporations, civil-service systems, and national polities--illustrate the explanatory power of institutional theory in the analysis of organizational change. Required reading for anyone interested in the sociology of organizations, the volume should appeal to scholars concerned with culture, political institutions, and social change.
Human rights have undergone a complete process of evolution. The history and development of human rights can be traced back to the days when the "rights of man" literally meant the "rights of white men." In those days, the rights of black men were not included in the concept of equality. As one writer aptly puts it, "It took a long time for the United States ... to include black men in their concept of equal rights ... it took an even longer time to include women in this process and thereby move away from 'the rights of man' to human rights" (Eide, Krause, and Rosas 1995: 25). The international community reinforced the idea of "all human rights for all" in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The General Assembly of the United Nations, in adopting this Declaration, proclaimed it "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms, and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance."l There was already a recognition, at the time when the UDHR was adopted, that human rights were interrelated and interdependent. Hence the preamble of this Declaration states that "the highest of aspiration of the common people is the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want."2 Although the intention to integrate different sets of rights into a single document existed, this was hampered by the controversy surrounding the different nature of civil and political rights on one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand. This controversy, which will be discussed later, led to the decision of the General Assembly that two separate covenants should be adopted, namely one on civil and political rights and the other on economic, social and cultural rights (Eide, Krause, and Rosas 1995: 22). Forty-five years after the adoption of the UDHR, the international community reiterated at the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna, Austria, in June 1993, that human rights are interdependent. The Conference adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which asserts that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated" (United Nations 1993). The Declaration enjoins the international community to "treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis." With the adoption of the Vienna Declaration the international community has finally acknowledged that the enjoyment of some rights is impossible without the enjoyment of all rights. As Eide, Krause, and Rosas, (1995: 19) assert: "Efforts to bring torture, arbitrary detention and capital punishment to an end are laudable.... What permanent achievement is there in saving people from torture, only to find that they are killed by famine or disease that could have been prevented had the will and appropriate controls been there?". Copyright
This book is an eye-opening account of transnational advocacy, not by environmental and rights groups, but by conservative activists. Mobilizing around diverse issues, these networks challenge progressive foes across borders and within institutions. In these globalized battles, opponents struggle as much to advance their own causes as to destroy their rivals. Deploying exclusionary strategies, negative tactics and dissuasive ideas, they aim both to make and unmake policy. In this work, Clifford Bob chronicles combat over homosexuality and gun control in the UN, the Americas, Europe and elsewhere. He investigates the 'Baptist-burqa' network of conservative believers attacking gay rights, and the global gun coalition blasting efforts to control firearms. Bob draws critical conclusions about norms, activists and institutions, and his broad findings extend beyond the culture wars. They will change how campaigners fight, scholars study policy wars, and all of us think about global politics.
The contemporary American political landscape has been marked by two paradoxical transformations: the emergence after 1960 of an increasingly activist state, and the rise of an assertive and politically powerful conservatism that strongly opposes activist government. Leading young scholars take up these issues inThe Transformation of American Politics. Arguing that even conservative administrations have become more deeply involved in managing our economy and social choices, they examine why our political system nevertheless has grown divided as never before over the extent to which government should involve itself in our lives.The contributors show how these two closely linked trends have influenced the reform and running of political institutions, patterns of civic engagement, and capacities for partisan mobilization--and fueled ever-heightening conflicts over the contours and reach of public policy. These transformations not only redefined who participates in American politics and how they do so, but altered the substance of political conflicts and the capacities of rival interests to succeed. Representing both an important analysis of American politics and an innovative contribution to the study of long-term political change, this pioneering volume reveals how partisan discourse and the relationship between citizens and their government have been redrawn and complicated by increased government programs.The contributors are Andrea Louise Campbell, Jacob S. Hacker, Nolan McCarty, Suzanne Mettler, Paul Pierson, Theda Skocpol, Mark A. Smith, Steven M. Teles, and Julian E. Zelizer.
In this vivid ethnography, Harri Englund investigates how ideas of freedom impede struggles against poverty and injustice in emerging democracies. Reaching beyond a narrow focus on the national elite, Prisoners of Freedom shows how foreign aid and human rights activism hamper the pursuit of democratic citizenship in Africa. The book explores how activists aspirations of self-improvement, pursued under harsh economic conditions, find in the human rights discourse a new means to distinguish oneself from the poor masses. Among expatriates, the emphasis on abstract human rights avoids confrontations with the political and business elites. Drawing on long-term research among the Malawian poor, Englund brings to life the personal circumstances of Malawian human rights activists, their expatriate benefactors, and the urban and rural poor as he develops a fresh perspective on freedom-one that recognizes the significance of debt, obligation, and civil virtues.
The theory of organizational niches may provide important bridging concepts upon which an integrated theory of interest groups might be developed. After discussing Hutchinson's (1957) n-dimensional niche concept, we develop several hypotheses about the reliance of interest organizations on multiple resource dimensions. These are tested with survey data on interest group leaders in the American states. On the basis of preliminary evidence of niche partitioning, we conclude that internal resource dimensions - exclusive access to members and finances - may be more critical than securing exclusive access to officials in a balkanized policy process in defining viable interest group niches. We conclude by outlining a research agenda using niche theory.
Recent research on organizational ecology is reviewed. Three levels of analysis and approaches to evolution are distinguished: 1) the organizational level, which uses a developmental approach; 2) the population level, which uses a selection approach; and 3) the community level, which uses a macroevolutionary approach. Theoretical and empirical research is critiqued within this framework. Proposals to develop organizational taxonomies are considered. -Author
In spite of the fact that chain referral sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the study of deviant behavior, the problems and techniques involved in its use have not been adequately explained. The procedures of chain referral sampling are not self-evident or obvious. This article attempts to rectify this methodological neglect. The article provides a description and analysis of some of the problems that were encountered and resolved in the course of using the method in a relatively large exploratory study of ex-opiate addicts.
This study explores whether an ecological, an adaptation, or a random organizational action perspective more appropriately describes the impact of organizational change in a population of voluntary social service organizations. The results indicate that some changes are disruptive, some have no impact on organizational mortality, and others are adaptive. One plausible interpretation of the results is that the effects of organizational changes depend on the location of the changes in the organization -- whether in the core or the periphery. Core changes, which are thought to be more disruptive, are best described by an ecological view. Peripheral changes are best described by an adaptation view. The study shows that selection and adaptation are complementary rather than contradictory views, and one clear implication is the need for simultaneous modeling of selection and adaptation processes to build a more complete theory of organizational change.
Authoritarian leaders around the world have recently started to crack down on democracy-promotion efforts in their countries. The Bush administration's pro-democracy bombast has not helped matters, but has contributed to the false idea that liberalization is somehow a U.S.-driven phenomenon.
The state plays an important role in structuring and channeling civic activism in Russia. Rather than eliminating advocacy, it privileges the advocacy forms that it prefers. The larger challenge facing Russian NGOs is an apathetic public.
This piece combines parts of Chapter 1 (Introduction) with Chapter 2 (theoretical framework) of an early draft of our book manuscript. The chapters that will eventually follow cover each of five regions: the Americas, Central Europe, former Soviet Union, East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Ethiopia, like in many African states, civil society organizations (CSOs) have played a role in addressing and promoting issues of public interest, especially since the beginning of the 1990s. They have been involved in service delivery and increasingly in advocacy on various issues, including in the areas of human rights and development. The work of CSOs particularly in governance and rights advocacy has often placed them at odds with governments, especially those with questionable democratic credentials. However, CSOs have also had problems of poor governance structure and lack of local constituency. The tension with governments and the accountability deficit of CSOs formed part of the reasons that justified the introduction of some restrictive CSO laws in a number of countries including Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation of 2009 is believed to have entailed organizational, operational, and regulatory limitations against CSO work in the country. It has especially affected CSOs that work on human rights and governance and those which advocate for rights-based development. After laying out the effects of the law, this article weighs its justifications that extend from the restriction of the enjoyment of the freedom of association to Ethiopian nationals to the accusation of CSOs as promoters of a neo-liberal agenda. Underlining the need to address the accountability deficits in the CSO sector in the country, the piece finds that the restrictive elements of the law and their justifications exceed this purpose.
The antigovernment protests that erupted in one ethnic region of Ethiopia can be attributed to the group's historical grievances or to its access to mobilizing resources. However, conventional explanations are insufficient in accounting for protest patterns in terms of their geographic distribution or varying levels of violence. The likelihood of protest onset was inversely related to local heterogeneity, intraethnic as well as interethnic. Protest violence spiraled through the interaction between ethnic homogeneity and the government's policing strategy. Woundings were less likely to occur in localities where protesters were repressed by police forces staffed by their own co-ethnics.
Krain, Matthew. (2012) J’accuse ! Does Naming and Shaming Perpetrators Reduce the Severity of Genocides or Politicides? International Studies Quarterly, doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2478.2012.00732.x © 2012 International Studies Association
This study tests the effectiveness of naming and shaming by transnational advocacy networks in reducing the severity of ongoing instances of genocide or politicide. I argue that naming and shaming should force perpetrators to reduce the severity of these ongoing atrocities in order to shift the spotlight, save their reputation, reframe their identity, maintain international legitimacy and domestic viability, and ease pressure placed on them by states or IOs. I test whether naming and shaming by NGOs, the media, and IOs significantly reduces the severity of the killing. Ordered logit analyses of ongoing genocides and politicides from 1976 to 2008 reveal that naming and shaming by Amnesty International, the Northern media, and the UNCHR have significant ameliorative effects on the severity of the most extreme atrocities. Transnational advocacy networks have the potential, through naming and shaming, to lead to life-saving changes in these murderous policies.
The modern human rights movement, as it is known today, is largely the product of the horrors of the mainly European war of 1939-45. Its rise is mostly a direct result of the abominations committed by the Third Reich during that war. Drawing on the Western liberal tradition, the human rights movement arose primarily to control and contain state action against the individual. The two principal documents of the movement—the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—largely establish negative rights that either limit or prohibit altogether government intrusion into the so-called “private realm.”
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOS) both lobby states and work within and across societies to advance their interests. These latter efforts are generally ignored by students of world politics because they do not directly involve governments. A study of transnational environmental activist groups (TEAGs) such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and World Wildlife Fund demonstrates that NGO societal efforts indeed shape widespread behavior throughout the world. TEAGs work through transnational social, economic, and cultural networks to shift standards of good conduct, change corporate practices, and empower local communities. This type of practice involves “world civic politics.” That is, TEAGs influence widespread behavior by politicizing global civil society—that slice of collective life which exists above the individual and below the state yet across national boundaries. This article examines the activity of world civic politics as practiced by environmental activists and evaluates its relevance for the study of NGOs and world politics in general.
Why do OECD countries vary in their regulatory approach towards non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? This paper introduces an index to assess NGO regulation regarding barriers to entry, NGOs’ political capacity, and economic activity. Our cross-section analysis of 28 OECD countries offers preliminary evidence of systematic differences in NGO regulation between corporatist and pluralist systems. We suggest corporatist systems have more restrictive regulations because NGOs risk upsetting the political order and managed social consensus. In pluralist countries, NGOs face fewer restrictions because governments view them as substitutes for formal communication channels. We present two cases, Japan (corporatist) and the United States (pluralist), to illustrate this argument. In sum, macro-institutional arrangements of political representation have a crucial bearing on national styles of NGO regulation. Future uses of this index include examining the effects of national context on international NGOs, explaining variations in organizational structures and strategies among NGOs, and tracking variations in NGO-state relations over time.
Studying policy networks raises challenges in three important areas: identifying members of the policy network, gaining access to the network, and reporting findings from the study while maintaining confidentiality. Using the tobacco control policy and health policy networks in Victoria, Australia as a case study, the article describes how to use a reputational snowball to identify a policy network. I argue that the reputational snowball not only presents a useful tool for identifying micro‐level network members, but also provides a means for assessing which members of the policy network are core, and which ones are on the periphery. Issues around reporting in studies of policy influentials are also discussed.
Obra que reconstruye el origen y evolución de las actuales redes transnacionales que, con la utilización de las nuevas tecnologías informativas como recurso organizador y aglutinador, han logrado constituirse en movimientos más o menos presionadores en la defensa de los derechos humanos, de la protección ambiental y de una mayor equidad de género, entre otros.
This a book. It was NOT published in a book review journal! Research Gate has made a serious mistake, listing the journal review of the book as if it were the book itself. Please ignore this listing & read the book description where it is properly listed. Better still, read the 2020 edition of Organizations Evolving.
Around the world, democratically elected regimes are routinely ignoring limits on their power and depriving citizens of basic freedoms. From Peru to the Philippines, we see the rise of a disturbing phenomenon: illiberal democracy. It has been difficult to recognize because for the last century in the West, democracy--free and fair elections--has gone hand in hand with constitutional liberalism--the rule of law and basic human rights. But in the rest of the world, these two concepts are coming apart. Democracy without constitutional liberalism is producing centralized regimes, the erosion of liberty, ethnic competition, conflict, and war. The international community and the United States must end their obsession with balloting and promote the gradual liberalization of societies.
Explores the effects of environmental variability and grain on the niche width of organizational populations. Develops a model of the manner in which environmental variations affect the life changes of specialist and generalist organizations. This model predicts that death rates of generalists exceed those of specialists in fine-grained environments, regardless of the level of variability, but that generalists have lower death rates when environmental variation is both coarse grained and large. The model is applied to a sample of restaurant organizations in 18 California cities. Maximum likelihood estimates and tests confirm the major predictions of the model.-Authors
Notwithstanding the increasing presence of foreign non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) in China, currently only foreign foundations may register as international NGOs in China. This lag in legislation is largely due to the Chinese government’s concerns about foreign NGOs that try to broach politically sensitive subjects such as democracy, human rights, labor, or religion. Much confusion has resulted from the lack of explicit legal rules, and the situation has blocked foreign NGOs’ access to China and prevented them from carrying out work in the country. In practice, many foreign NGOs have resorted to alternative means of operation. It is time for the Chinese government to revisit this gray area and enact a clear and constructive legal framework for foreign NGOs to follow.