NON-GOVERNMENTAL

ORGANIZATIONS
Always angels??

Introductory Remarks
Structure of our course so far tempts us to
focus on NGOs working (from outside) in
conflict situations. But:
Many NGOs work for humanitarian, humanrights or single-issue causes in peacetime,
inc in our own countries
Local NGOs also vital for outcomes
Even wider range of civil society actors,
crucial i.a. for Security Sector Reform

IS THERE ANYTHING ALL

NGOs HAVE IN COMMON?
Not governmental (or institutional, like
UN agencies)
Self-motivated, free choice of action
But not always self-financed - agents
of aid delivery, recipients of aid
Can be quite institutionalized and in
weak states could be filling power gap

NGOS IN THE POWER

NEXUS
Work against, with or for govts/insts
Work against, with or for business
actors
(how to classify things like the Gates
Foundation??)
Take resources from private citizens to
private citizens

SKETCH OF ISSUES:
MACRO
More than the ladle in the global soup kitchen:
Humanitarian vs. development or caring vs.
solving/reforming goals
Caring for human bodies or human rights
Neutrality in conflict, posn. on violence?
If transmitting standards, which standards?
Top-down, North-South vs. empowering and
facilitating models
Fire-fighting, or longer engagement?

SKETCH OF ISSUES: NGO

GOVERNANCE

General codes + norms; self-policing??

Answerability for impact/efficiency
Fund-raising techniques, competition
Status when delivering others funds
Administrative expenses
Staff qualifications, motivation
Staff safety, NGOs as targets

LOOKING AHEAD
NGOs fear of subjection/manipulation
as govts do more complex conflict
management but also like using agents
Classic NGO funding/work methods
(govt, private giving) overtaken by
Soros, Gates, single-issue drives?
Various factors weakening Northern
leadership + control

AFTER THE BREAK

Will look in more detail at challenges for NGO
impacts + principles in a rather chaotic
conflict situation
Not that this is the only setting for ambiguity:
consider diversion of charity payments to
terrorists (and Hamas humanitarian work);
rights and wrongs of single issue campaigns
eg on fur, whaling; misuse of civil society
organizational forms eg in Communist states

ROLES OF NGO X-AID

Direct humanitarian delivery: food, drugs,
medical assistance
Running a large refugee camp on the state
border
Working with a local charity for aid distribution
in an ethnic minority area
Working under protection of a NATO team in
unstable Province Y
WHAT ISSUES CAN ARISE??

DIRECT AID DELIVERY

Clues: - By what routes? To whom?

REFUGEE CAMP ON
BORDER
Clues: who and what is in the camp?
What comings and goings?

LOCAL CHARITY + ETHNIC

GROUP
Clues: what will this do for the groups
and the charitys post-conflict status?

WORKING WITH NATO

Clues: Independence? Impact? Image?
Pros + cons for safety?

ANY REMEDIES?
Look within the range:
Prohibition/avoidance
Regulation (is the contract relevant??)
Self-regulation