Who Needs the Experts? The Politics and Practices of Alternative Humanitarianism and Its Relationship to NGOs

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Drawing on fieldwork in Greece, we examine the politics and practices of autonomous volunteering in the context of the...     

An Examination of ‘Irregular Competition’ between Corporations and NGOs

The purpose of this article is to develop a theory which frames the demands of civil society in such a way as to better enable corporate subjects to manage and navigate ‘irregular’ engagement from activist organizations. Activist NGOs engage in advocacy at times by mounting, facilitating or encouraging popular social campaigns and actions against targeted corporations. In many cases, radical ‘direct action’ tactics are adopted, taking such approaches, NGOs may capitalise on the broader, more ethically diverse strategic possibilities open to them than are available to their corporate adversaries. We employ institutional theory to map out this asymmetric distribution of strategic possibility. We theorise NGOs and corporate subjects as effectively ‘competing’ with one another to maximise their own strategic possibilities and to minimise those of their opponents, in the perennial battle for hearts and minds that plays out between NGOs, corporate subjects, and broader civil society actors who ultimately determine boundary rules for NGO-corporate conflict. Within this context we explore the normative challenge arising from the possibility that corporate subjects might seek to tip the competitive balance by learning from how the military has adapted to successfully engage with ‘irregular’ adversaries through what is often termed ‘asymmetric’ or ‘irregular’ warfare. Should corporations follow a similar adaptive process, by mirroring the ‘irregular’ strategies of activist groups? Drawing evidence from the military experience, we suggest—perhaps counter intuitively—that such adaptations can create new opportunities for conflict resolution and for building sustainable cooperation between former adversaries.     

Globalization and state size in East Asia: How do international NGOs cushion the effect of trade?

How does globalization influence the size of the state? Many studies examine the effect of economic globalization or the impact of International NGOs (INGOs, hereafter) on state size but fail to acknowledge the interdependent and antagonistic associations between them. This paper addresses this gap by examining the interaction of trade and INGOs and identify how this interaction differs in democratic and nondemocratic countries. In drawing on panel data from 6 East Asian countries in the period 1971-2009, this paper finds that the negative impact of trade on state size can be alleviated by the engagement of INGOs, and INGOs’ effect is much stronger in democratic countries. In addition, health INGOs have a similar pro-state effect which is also stronger in democracies. This suggests that INGOs help cushion the negative consequences of trade by collaborating with domestic actors, which is more likely to occur in democratic settings.     

French NGOs in the Global Era: Professionalization “Without Borders”?

This article asks whether French NGOs have fallen into line with the wider trend towards professionalization that has marked the Northern nonprofit sector, most notably Anglo-American NGOs, over the last two decades or so. It shows how French NGOs, particularly those engaged in longer term development work, were characterized by militancy over the early post-colonial decades. It then demonstrates how, over the global era, the French state has encouraged developmental NGOs (NGDOs) to undertake bureaucratic forms of professionalization. Next, it looks at how these organizations have, in response, adapted their staffing, structures, and procedures, whilst stopping short of overly standardized forms of development. Finally, it shows how French NGDOs have, in eschewing “technical professionalism”, been acting in line with resource dependence theory and responding to the demands of their critical resource, which is not the French state but the donor public and their grassroots supporters.

Does Talk Lead to Action? An Examination of the Relationship between Debate and Funding for NGOs in Canada

All organizations, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), need funding to survive and fulfill their mandates. What is the best strategy for securing that funding? Should groups work to attract government attention and be a focus of government debate or should they avoid this type of scrutiny? This article uses innovative data to systematically examine how being the subject of debate in parliament is related to NGO funding for Indigenous, women, and environmental groups. We also examine if the relationship between debate and funding is dependent on the political party in power. We use data collected from Canadian Public Accounts, which lists all grants to groups by the federal government, and the index of Hansard, a full record of parliamentary debates at the federal level in Canada. Our findings demonstrate that the relationship between debate and funding is dependent on the issue area. While debate is positively associated with funding in all areas, it is a stronger predictor of funding for environmental and Indigenous groups than for organizations focusing on women. In addition, the party in power is critical for shaping how debate is related to funding. Debate has a much stronger effect on environmental funding when Liberals are in power than it does when Conservatives control the Prime Minister's office. This research shows that NGOs must be strategic when garnering attention to their cause as more debate does not necessarily lead to more funding across issue areas and contexts.     

Facing the Bullet? Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs’) Responses to the Changing Aid Landscape in Ghana

There is growing evidence suggesting that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in lower-middle-income countries and emerging economies are facing challenges about their sustainability due to changing aid patterns for development. While the changing development context and the challenges posed to NGOs are increasingly receiving research attention, an understanding of how organisations are responding remains very limited. This article draws on 65 qualitative interviews and presents findings about how NGOs in Ghana, West Africa, are responding to the emerging concerns about their sustainability in the context of the changing aid landscape. Findings suggest that NGOs in Ghana are combining at least six main strategies to attain sustainability. We have categorised these as: (1) eggs-in-multiple-baskets; (2) cost-cutting; (3) strength-in-numbers; (4) security-under-partnership; (5) credibility-building; and (6) visibility-enhancing strategies.     

Financial Giving of Foundations and Businesses to Environmental NGOs: The Role of Grantee’s Legitimacy

This paper studies how foundations and businesses decide which environmental NGOs to fund. Since not all funding requests can be satisfied, donors have to evaluate applicants and select just a few. We argue that their selection is based on the evaluation of the applicant ENGO’s various aspects of “legitimacy” (Suchman, Acad Manage Rev, 20(3): 571–610, 1995). We test this claim by using data from 14 in-depth interviews with representatives of Greek foundations and businesses (banks and phone companies) which have funded flagship ENGOs over the period 2008–2010. We find that “moral legitimacy”, which taps on the normative evaluation of an organization by its audience, is the most important for all donors. On the other hand, “pragmatic legitimacy”, which rests on the donor’s self-interest calculations, was found to be more relevant for businesses than for foundations.     

Women's NGOs Are an Active Social Force

Dear Editor, I would like to know more about some of the various Chinese women's NGOs that were active at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women last summer. Have any new NGOs been established, and in what fields? Isabel Crook Canada     

Intergenerationelles Lernen als Herausforderung für NGOs

In this article the learning between different generations in Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is discussed. Therefore the development and history of NGOs as a special kind of organisations is presented before the relationship between different generations is analysed within two steps. Firstly the voluntary engagement of different age groups is taken into account and secondly the learning opportunities between different generations in NGOs are theoretically reflected. Finally the challenges of intergenerational relationships within NGOs and the possibilities of institutionalised intergenerational learning are described.     

Safeguard Rights and Interests of Women in Accordance with the Law——the Five-Year Anniversary of the Implementation of the Law of the PRC on the Protection of Righ Is and Interests of Women

ON April 3, 1992, the Law of the PRC on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (Protection Law), the first basic law for protecting rights and interests of women and promoting equality between men and women in China, was adopted at the fifth session of the Seventh National People's Congress (NPC), and entered into force on October 1 of the same year.     

General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China

In this issue we will introduce readers to the General Principles of the Civil Lave of the People's Republic of China, which was adopted at the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's Congress, promulgated by order No.37 of the President of the People's Republic of China on April 12, 1986, and effective as of January 1, 1987.This law was formulated according to the constitution and the actual situation in our country, drawing upon our practical experience in civil actirities,for the purpose of protecting the lawful civil rights and interests of citizens and legal persons and correctly adjusting civil relations,so as to meet the needs of the developing socialist modernizationThe Civil Law of the People's Republie of China has 156 articles and 9 chapters. The chapters are:1) Basic Principles;2) Citizen (Natural Person); 3) Legal Persons; 4) Civil Law and Agencies; 5)Civil Rights; 6) Civil Liability; 7) Limitations of Action; 8) Application of Law in Civil Relations with Foreigners; and 9) Supplement     

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors

Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors is China's first overall law aimed at guaranteeing minors' rights and interests. We will introduce this law to our readers in this issue.     

For the Sake of the Children

THE United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has come a long way in China. Since its assistance program was resumed in 1979, UNICEF has assisted children of China through 100 major projects involving a commitment of more than US$ 200 million through 1995. The global organization's contribution to improving the well-being of 380     

Transnational Information Politics and the “Child Migration Crisis”: Guatemalan NGOs Respond to Youth Migration

Sharp increases in “child migrants” from Central America detained at the US border in 2014 brought unprecedented levels of attention to long extant social and political issues perceived as causing youth migration. While governments on both sides of the US border faced criticism over responses to the migration “crisis,” the presumed causes of this migration presented in US media discourses went largely unquestioned. This article presents data collected in June 2015 from in-depth interviews with Guatemalan and transnational non-governmental organization (NGO) staff, scholars, lawyers, and activists in order to understand the complex interpretations of child migration by NGO actors in Guatemala. Findings illustrate how NGOs may selectively draw on the power of prevailing media narratives to buttress ideological and programmatic goals while simultaneously contesting how the same media depictions obscure the lived realities of migrants. We consider the transnational information politics of representations of “child migration” across government, media, and civil society sectors and the critical role of NGOs in articulating the complex realities faced by populations vulnerable to migration.     

Locating the Source of the Changjiang

Aiding a colleague‘s recovery from mountain sicknessSeracs at the source of the Changjiang RiverThe magnificent Tuotuo RiverA Tibetan girl in the regionLocal herdsmen milking COWSLocating the Source of the Changjiang     

The role of the voluntary sector in the provision of rural services — the case of transport

The voluntary sector has become more fully involved in service provision in rural areas over the last 10 years and this paper attempts to assess its impact with respect to one particular group of services, namely transport. The importance of the initiatives which have taken place is outlined in a statement of recent policy changes, including the radical provisions in the 1985 Transport Act, and through a national review of the three principal kinds of voluntary transport services in rural areas — social car schemes, dial-a-ride and community buses. This review is followed by an in-depth analysis of the extent of the voluntary sector involvement in transport provision in Norfolk and Suffolk. Extensive tables are presented and the characteristics of the schemes outlined together with an assessment of the essential ingredients for success or failure.The conclusion reached is that the scope and scale of voluntary sector initiatives in rural areas is small, and they form no alternative to a more general and systematic provision of transport services. Further, voluntary sector activities may even increase the inequalities in service provision. Suggestions are made as to how the scattered developments could be brought together and developed through the parish councils, parish transport groups and the rural transport broker.     

Representing the interests of the public?: the case of the local health council in Scotland

The statutory function of local health councils in Scotland (and of community health councils in England and Wales) is to represent the interests of the public in the health service. This article, based on data from a four-year research project financed by the Scottish Office, examines official and participants' assumptions and claims about the legitimacy of health councils, as at present constituted, to carry out this function. Clarification of the basis of their legitimacy would assist, it is argued, in the resolution of a central dilemma: How are councils to represent the interests of the public? The conclusion is reached that inadequate thought was given to developing theoretically sustainable arrangements. Several interpretations of representation are admixed in the rationale for the present system and they cannot be aggregated to produce a coherent defence of it.     

Striking the Notes of the Twilight Years

The first Sunbeam Amateur PianoContest was held in the BeijingYouth Palace.More than 400people signed up and 130 of them wereselected to perform on stage.Theyoungest was 45 years old and the oldestwas 80.Most came from the BeijingTraining Class for Middle-aged andElderly People but some came from asfar away as Liaoning and Hubei.The     

与非政府组织（NGOs）有关各类组织

译编非政府组织(NGOs)有关各类组织名称的目的是：一、中国非政府组织的发展目前处于初始阶段,对于非政府组织在成长与发展过程中出现的形形色色组织及其作用我们不甚熟悉,更很少了解其英文简称。过去,在家仅了解如NGO(非政府组织)、NPO(非营利组织)、VO(志愿组织)、10(中介组织)等简称;少数人了解如CONGO(政府组织的NOG)、INGO(国际NGO)、GRO(基层组织)、QUANGO(准非政府组织)等简称;其他就很少知道了。这样,当我们阅读有关外文书籍或听外国专家教授讲课时,由于不了解这些名称,就会感到理解其含意的困难。     

Charm of the Grasslands

When I suckled at my mother's breast in my childhood before my eyes was a perfect dream: A rainbow would fall to the ground, adorning my native place.