Learning Under Authoritarianism: Strategic Adaptations Within International Foundations and NGOs in China

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Within the field of international relations, scholarship supports the notion that international non-governmental...     

International NGOs and National Regulation in an Age of Terrorism

This article examines the regulation of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Japan to answer two questions. First, to what extent has the domestic institutional context facing INGOs changed following dramatic attacks by transnational terrorists on Western liberal democracies? Second, what effect has new counterterrorism legislation had on the organizational and strategic decisions of INGOs, and thus their locations and operations, since 2001? We argue that formal regulations on non-profits have changed less than expected, given widespread alarm about counterterrorism legislation in non-profit communities around the world. However, a new climate of uncertainty has hampered INGOs ability to adjust appropriately to their new institutional environment. Counterterrorism regulations have thus generated unintended consequences, including inefficiencies, redistribution of resources, and self-censorship that may outweigh the benefits for national security given the limited nature of much of the regulatory change.     

International Funding of NGOs in India: Bringing the State Back In

This article seeks to understand how the Indian state exercises control over transnational ties between foreign and domestic actors by examining the national legislative practices that determine receipt of foreign funds and the data on foreign funding flows to NGOs (a database of more than 18,000 associations). The article shows how legislative practices of democratic states serve to reduce foreign influence. Issue characteristics are also shown to determine state response to externalization, blocking transnational ties in “high politics” areas such as minority claims. Finally, within state imposed restrictions, religious rather than secular organizations remain dominant transnational actors in India. The study contributes evidence to suggest that contrary to the arguments of world polity theory and many transnational social movement scholars, states continue to remain powerful actors limiting transnationalization.

Development of Citizen-Organized Environmental NGOs in China

Social movement theories provide a framework for explaining the post-1990 rise in China’s citizen-organized environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs), which consisted of at least 128 organizations as of 2004. We use a political process model, which is based on favorable political opportunities, cognitive liberation, and indigenous organizational strength, to explain the sharp growth in citizen organized ENGOs. In addition, we employ a world society perspective to help clarify why the political environment in China became favorable for ENGO growth, and how international ENGO practices were diffused within China. Our analysis shows that the relatively high status of ENGO founders together with their personal and professional networks also played important roles in ENGO growth.

Making the news: environmental NGOs and their media visibility in China

This study was conducted to examine the factors that affect the media visibility of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO) in China. Specifically, we examine the ways in which environmental advocacy and media use behaviors are related to the level of attention an ENGO receives from news media. Using data derived from a content analysis of 2158 media reports by 171 ENGOs across China and other sources, the results showed that ENGOs that have an official website and use Weibo garner more media attention than those who do not have a website or use Weibo. Most importantly, the results indicate differences between environmental activism and environmental consumerism in facilitating the media visibility of different types of ENGOs. Compared to government-organized ENGOs, grassroots ENGOs benefit more from participating in environmental consumerist advocacy and having an official website. The findings demonstrate the importance of using various strategies to increase organizational visibility in news media and highlighting the differences between using websites, Weibo, and WeChat in facilitating the media visibility of ENGOs in China.     

The Effects of Resources,Political Opportunities and Organisational Ecology on the Growth Trajectories of AIDS NGOs in China

In this study, I attempt to integrate the theories of collective action and social movements in an analysis of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in China. Using panel data of AIDS NGOs from 1994 to 2008, I analyse the factors that influence the rise and development of AIDS NGOs, including changes in political opportunity, funding and organisational ecology. The results show that political opportunity, increased funding and organisational ecology have positive effects on the growth of AIDS NGOs. However, the growth trajectories of grassroots NGOs, government-organised NGOs (GONGOs) and international NGOs are found to be affected by different factors. The implications of the findings are also discussed in relation to the future growth of NGOs in China.

     

International migration and the NGOs working in the field of migration in Turkey

This study aims to analyse the activities and discourses of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field of migration in Turkey. The research explores how the NGOs frame the issue of migration differently and how they define and comprehend migration, migrants, and refugees. The article discusses whether the NGOs view refugees as subjects needing help, support, and protection or as actors who have rights and must be empowered and argues that there is tension between the two approaches. These points are discussed through a field study, conducted in 2020 (between February and April), comprising in-depth interviews with representatives of 13 NGOs working in the field of migration. The study points to structural, historical, and conjectural causes and aspects of the weakness of rights-based attitudes and activities among the NGOs working in the field of migration in Turkey. The article finds out that the actions of the NGOs working in the field of migration are concentrated on the basic needs of refugees, and structural limitations, such as political pressure, political polarization, and capacity problems, push the NGOs to evaluate the issue of migration within relatively narrow frames. The article also stresses the importance of an enabling political and legal environment and a coherent and structured communication strategy to promote a rights-based migration agenda.     

Jennifer Y. J. Hsu: State of Exchange: Migrant NGOs and the Chinese Government

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The monograph State of Exchange: Migrant NGOs and the Chinese Government by Jennifer Y. H. Hsu presents a comprehensive...     

Understanding Service Contracting and Its Impact on NGO Development in China

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The Chinese government and human service NPOs are joining the bandwagon of service contracting with enthusiasm. Although...     

Requirements for Efficiency and Responsiveness in Government Services

Book reviewed in this article: Managing Organizations in Developing Countries: An Operational and Strategic Perspective. By Moses N. Kiggundu Administering Management Development Institutions in Africa. By Kami Rwegasira Transforming a Bureaucracy: The Experience of the Philippine National Irrigation Administration. Edited by Frances F. Korten and Robert Y. Siy, Jr. Local Organizations for Social Development: Concepts and Cases of Irrigation Organization. By David M. Freeman with Vrinda Bhandarkar, Edwin Shinn, John Wilkins-Wells, and Patricia Wilkins-Wells Local Institutional Development: An Analytical Sourcebook with Cases. By Norman Uphoff     

旧城保护与更新：国际经验及借鉴

旧城保护与更新是一项复杂的系统工程,本文结合快速城市化背景下我国城市更新面,临的主要问题,通过对欧美国家旧城保护与更新的实践及其经验教训分析,从中探寻旧城保护与更新_的有效途径与模式,为我国的城市更新与可持续发展提供有益借鉴,     

Organising Services for People with Mental Handicap: The Californian Experience

The organisation of services for California's mentally handicapped population is outlined and critically examined. Its distinctive features are noted: a concern for rights, rather than needs; an underlying free market philosophy; an explicit attempt to combine public and private enterprise; and an elaborate system of checks and balances designed to restrain the welfare bureaucracies and ensure that they remain responsive to the changing nature of individual need. It is argued that, despite certain limitations, the Californian system does seriously address three problems that bedevil all attempts to develop a satisfactory system of care for people with mental handicaps: the inherent powerlessness of the client group; the diversity and fragmentation of services; and bureaucratic inertia.     

Tradition and Divergence in Southwestern China: Kam Big Song Singing in the Village and on Stage

Kam big songs, comprising a major musical genre sung for centuries in Kam villages in southwestern China, have now been sung in staged performances for over sixty years. Concurrent performance of big song in both village and staged formats has produced different features and paths of development for each, as well as complex interdependence between the two formats. Kam big song singing thus presents a valuable insight into the way that tradition and divergence from tradition might be understood in the twenty-first century. In this article, I outline some of the most significant aspects of villagers' big song singing over the last sixty years. I demonstrate the difficulties in both locating the concept of ‘tradition’ within contemporary big song singing and analytically situating the divergence of big song singing into different performance formats. I thereby illustrate key concerns, potential elucidations, and the complexity of the analytical task in understanding the contemporary trajectory of ‘tradition’.