PSC 3600: NGOs

Spring 2016
Prof. Bracic

Take-home Final Exam

This final exam is due at 10 pm on Wednesday, May 11th. You must upload it to D2L
by 10 pm sharp. There will be no grace period, and you will not be able to upload
the exam after 10 pm on Wednesday, May 11th.

Total points: 100

Instructions

This exam has 4 essay questions. There is an upper word limit: for each question,
your answer cannot be over 1000 words. This does not mean that your answer
must be 1000 words. It can be shorter. But it does mean that for each question, I
will stop reading and grading after the first 1000 words. If the question is a
multi-part question, the word limit for each part is listed. The same rule applies
once Ive reached to word limit for that part, I will stop reading and grading and Ill
move on to the next part. Your first concern should be the quality of your answer.

You will not be graded on style, but you will be graded on clarity. If your spelling is
incorrect (use spell check!), or if your sentence is unclear, I will take off points.

Use class readings in your answers, and be spe 5cific. Dont give full citations, but do
mention a reading in text if you reference it. For example, its enough to say
Asimov (1950) writes . There is no need to give the paper title, or the chapter, or
the full citation.

If I ask you to reference at least 3 readings, they must all be from different pieces of
scholarship. A book only counts once. For example, Chapter 1 from Asimov and
Chapter 2 from the same book by Asimov only count as one reading.

You may not receive help from any other person and you may not copy and paste
text from any source.

Logistics

You can simply write your answer below each question, save your file, and upload it
back to D2L. Please upload both a Word version and a PDF version.
If something is unclear, feel free to email me and ask me to clarify. I will only
answer clarifying questions. I will not answer substantive questions.

Exam

Question 1 [total word limit: 1000 words]

1A Throughout the term, we talked about NGOs and the part they play in
transnational advocacy networks. What are transnational advocacy networks?
Who are the actors that make up those networks? What kinds of politics do those
networks engage in? Reference the relevant readings. [word limit: 700] (16 points)

Keck and Sikkink (1998) indicate that transnational advocacy networks are groups
of NGOs and activists that go across borders and work together to create global
strategies to resolve certain problems. They are characterized by voluntary,
horizontal and contingent forms of communication and cooperation while defending
against certain issues. Transnational advocacy networks can include economic
actors , firms , scientists , experts , activists , NGOs ,social movements , foundations,
media , churches ,intellectuals , trade unions , regional and international
intergovernmental organizations , executive and/or branches of governments and
many more. Advocacy networks move beyond mere small changes in a particular
country but work to change the very way in which institutions and social
arrangements are formulated in the first place. They do this by attempting to
promote and change the very way in which society creates norms for policies in the
first place. They are political spaces that open up the potential for dialogue within a
larger policy community. The Term network is important because of the structured
connections between these interconnected groups. There is not a set politics that all
Transnational advocacy networks advocate for but a plurality of different ideas and
strategies that all work together to create common goals across national lines.

1B Describe an early example of such a network and identify the NGOs that were
involved. Even though NGOs are, by definition, not governmental organizations,
they engage in politics. Using the early example you described, discuss how the
NGOs involved engaged in politics, and how they (at the same time) remained non-
governmental. Reference the relevant readings. [word limit: 300] (9 points)

Keck and Sikkink (1998) mention the international movement for the abolition of
slavery as one of most important examples of an early example of a transnational
advocacy network. While it was abolished in 1833 in Britain, British abolitionists
turned towards getting it abolished in the United States. Between Britain and the
United States antislavery organizations repeatedly exchanged letters and
publications to raise awareness about the horrors of slavery. This consciousness
raising allowed the amount of people signing a petition against slavery in 1833 to
have one of every seven adults to agree slavery should be outlawed. These
combined with things such as boycotts of slave produce goods became the way in
which these transnational advocacy networks motivated public change without
directly changing the laws itself

Question 2 [total word limit: 1000 words]

Weve talked extensively about the importance of framing in NGO action. Answer
the following questions with reference to examples from at least 3 different
readings (your complete answer to question 2 should reference 3 different readings
I am not asking you to use 3 different readings for each of 2A, 2B, and 2C).

2A What is framing and why is it important? What kinds of audiences do NGOs have
to think about when they decide how to frame an issue? [word limit: 500] (12
points)
Kirk and sikkink (1998) indicate that framing is the strategies that NGOs use to
mobilize broader sectors of the population and create a common cultural narrative
that connects the NGO with the public. (Framing is important because it shapes how
people recognize both the NGO and the issue and hand and structures how they
respond to NGO efforts. An effective frame can catalyze large scale involvement from
the general public because it invokes an affective reaction that is particularly
motivating, while a bad frame can make the NGO be easily forgotten. The frame of
the NGO also effects the way in which the NGO is run and organized because frames
can be interwoven with its method for social change. For example, a frame based
around educational strategies in the university will directly affect the way in which
said NGO chooses to engage in activism. The frame itself is the basis for all other
actions within an NGO because acting in tandem with the frame is necessary for the
NGO to seem like a cohesive unit on this issue. When creating a frame an NGO must
think about the ways in which this issue has historically been understood and the
connections that the public has with this issue. There isnt one universal audience of
all NGOs and as such each frame must be attuned to the potential audiences for
their particular issue. A frame that centers on educational strategies would need to
center its audience on people like college students and educators.

2B Discuss an example from the readings where an important issue received very
little attention at first, but became much more widely supported once it was re-
framed. What was the original frame and why was the second frame so much more
successful? [word limit: 200] (6 points)

Gruenbaum indicates one one example would the issue of Female Circumcision () in
which until Fran Hosken changed the frame away from a reformist frame that
attempted to just slowly change the cultural traditions of the Sudanese towards a
very blunt and forward international criticism of its violent nature. This frame
allowed for the project to gain international backing and support because it sparked
that controversy on the international scene which in turn created even more
international pressure against the Sudanese elite to change this practice instead of
just waiting for the Sudanese to eventually change this tradition.

2C In the context of NGOs, who are translators and why do they play an important
role in framing? [Word limit: 300] (7 points)
Merry in 2006 says that Translators are individuals who specialize in adapting
frames to different audiences and different regions to more effectively persuade
groups in each region. Putting the symbolic terms of NGO frames into the language
and cultural vernacular of local groups is a necessary to create a middle ground. A
translator simultaneously analyzes the way in which the international scene sees
these frames and reshapes them based on that perception as well. These can be local
activists or anyone who has a connection to both the local scene and the
international space. Understanding the ways in which frames effective different
audiences different is a necessary analytic to create a successful NGO that can span
across multiple nations while still galvanizing support. Translating information into
different frames is a necessary part of any NGO

Question 3 [total word limit: 1000 words]

NGOs are sometimes caught between competing demands. On the one hand, they
have to satisfy donors, because without them, they would not be able to operate. On
the other hand, they must actually help the community that they intend to help.

3A Discuss why satisfying both the donors and the target community is sometimes
challenging. [Word limit: 500] (12 points)
What the Donor wants to put on their resume and be publicized as supporting might
not always be the same as what the target community or the NGO wants at the time.
Parks (2008 gives the example in places like the Philippines in which Donors such as
the Ford foundation closed their office in 2001 because that region was no longer
strategically valuable for them in light of 9/11. NGOs are then left in a position in
which they must choose whether or not to move to follow the money and the donors
or continue helping the target communities within the Philippines. This also
simultaneously occurs when money streams are constant from donors. Many times
donors want to have tangible results that they can publicize and give to their
shareholders or friends. Those tangible results could involve things like food, wells
and other things easy to produce from a western standpoint. Yet, these forms of aid
can have detrimental effects on the local populations because it forces them to
become dependent upon western aid for their own survival. An example of this
would when western countries deliver large amounts of shoes to local village and
inadvertently putting a local cobbler out of business. Once the shoes that have been
delivered to the region inevitably fall apart they no longer have a cobbler who can
make or repair those shoes.
3B In class, we discussed several examples of the principal agent problem. Describe
this problem in the context of the NGO/donor relationship. [Word limit: 200] (5
points)
The principle agent problem is when one group controls the money stream and is
able to make decisions that impact and control the other. The Principle in this
instant is the Donor and the NGO is the agent that must follow the principals
directives to continue getting funding. This is emblematic when NGOs get put in a
quid pro quo relationship with their donors in which they get funding as long as
they fulfill certain directives set by the donor.

3C Several readings from class as well as the documentary on post-earthquake Haiti

suggest that NGOs are sometimes not particularly concerned with long-term
sustainability of their interventions (think about the broken wells). Why does this
happen and what does it have to do with the NGO/donor relationship? Do you have
any suggestions for resolving the problem of un-sustainability? [Word limit: 300] (8
points)
Many NGOs that are based on smaller donations from the general public
have a motivation to produce results that can be shown and then sent back to the
donors. Donors would rather be able to see a tangible thing their money produced
such as a well even if that well was shoddily made and didnt really help the local
populations. Everyone wants their money to be the one that actually did something
not just used for administration or local education.
A few ways to resolve this problem might be available to NGOs if they shift
their frame a little bit. One option might to glamorize the strategies that have more
long term effectiveness such as education or local advocacy work to show that those
do have material effects in the same way. Another option might be to find different
donor sources that dont desire immediate material tangible results.

Question 4 [total word limit: 1000 words]

Many scholars, NGO workers, and activists would claim that NGOs play an
indispensable role in global society today. Others would question this claim, and
posit that entities other than NGOs might be just as successful at doing the same
thing.

4A what is service provision and how does it differ from advocacy? Discuss the two
claims above in the context of these two different types of NGO action. [Word limit:
300] (7 points)
Beer , Bartley and Roberts (2012) defines Service provision as when NGOs take
over the role of providing services for the communities within the target region.
This would include things like clinics, food production and other monetary services
.This differs from advocacy because it isnt just pushing the government or
institutions to change a particular norm but actively producing an action or service
in an attempt to help the target community. This can produce more immediate
effects for the local population compared to a more broad strategy centered on
advocacy.
4B Should humanitarian aid abroad no longer be provided by NGOs and instead be
provided by private security companies? Discuss with reference to at least one
article read in class. [Word limit: 350] (9 points)
Universalizing humanitarian aid to only be centered on Private security companies
is not the correct solution for a few reasons. First of which is that it undermines
sovereign states ability to govern and manage the violence within their own
borders. Spearin in 2008 says that the inclusion of PSC into daily life for countries
acts as security risk for many countries as the institutions dont trust the private
security companies motives and past.() This also would implicate the ability for
Private security companies to engage in humanitarian aid in regions that are
currently in conflict or have a government that fears involvement with other armed
forces. PSCs position as a capitalist entity has implications for how it would engage
in humanitarian aid. They could for example engage in humanitarian aid that only
sparks conflict in the future so they could then be hired for mercenary work as well.

4C How about Walmart? Should Walmart provide humanitarian aid abroad instead
of NGOs providing the same? What are some of the challenges in having a business
provide aid? What are some advantages? [word limit: 350] (9 points)
Allowing for a Market based entity to become the only one who provides
humanitarian aid abroad is a poor idea because it lets them easily back out when
market pressure makes it no longer profitable to be seen as a humanitarian.
Hopgood also indicates that this also naturalizes that way in which Walmart
engages in unethical employment and uses near slave labor in china to produce its
own goods. HWalmarts connection to the free market also makes its choices in
Humanitarian aid suspect because it is more likely to choose something that helps it
get a foothold in the region long term compared to what might be more helpful for
the people involved in the long term. Walmart also has the problem of humanitarian
aid not being its first priority which means that its response time from shareholders
and other people in controlling positions might be slower than a NGO in the same
situation.
Yet Walmarts large cash reserves allows it to easily produce large amount of
aid without require a donor unlike many NGOs in similar situations. Mobilizing
money quickly in these instances could solve some of the problems about response
time and could help to create larger strategies that work transnationally. Walmarts
large base of customers and public also helps to spur broader mobilization from the
public.

End of exam