- School of Leadership and Education Sciences
5998 Alcalá Park
- I do research on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and global advocacy focused on human rights, gl... moreI do research on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and global advocacy focused on human rights, global health, and greater social or economic equity. I mainly work with medium-N qualitative data derived from interviews and documents. In my recent work I explore the role of digital media in global advocacy, the discourses emerging about billionaire philanthropy, and how institutional and normative constraints often prevent INGOs from accomplishing their lofty missions focused on greater social, economic, or environmental justice.
I received my PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute in San Domenico di Fiesole/Italy. I am the co-founder and former Research Director of the Transnational NGO Initiative at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs/Syracuse University. My research is informed by the challenges experienced by practitioners in the NGO world, including how to be accountable, how to think about effectiveness, how to advance social justice internally, and how to prepare for, and respond to, changing external conditions.edit
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to "decolonize" their practices, to "shift the power" to the Global South, and to put an end to "white saviorism" by... more
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to "decolonize" their practices, to "shift the power" to the Global South, and to put an end to "white saviorism" by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs' ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs' struggles to adapt in response to their critics are the result of TNGOs' "nonprofitness." By virtue of being nonprofit, TNGOs are embedded in an architecture consisting of forms and norms that inherently limit the extent to which they are able to change. Using the construct of the architecture, this article provides a novel account for the challenges that TNGOs confront as they attempt to close the gap between the rhetoric and reality of inclusive and transformational socioeconomic, political, or environmental change.
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A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to... more
A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to employ both techniques iteratively to capture often implicit ideas and meaning-making by third-sector leaders, donors, and other stakeholders. CAQDAS facilitates the coding, organization, and quantification of qualitative data, effectively creating parallel qualitative and quantitative data structures. LCA facilities the discovery of latent concepts, document classification, and the identification of exemplary qualitative evidence to aid interpretation. For third-sector research, CAQDAS and LCA are particularly promising because diverse stakeholders usually do not share homogenous views about core issues such as organizational effectiveness, collaboration, impact measurement, or philanthropic approaches, for example. The procedure explained here provides a rigorous method for discovering and understanding diversity in perspectives and is especially useful in medium-n research settings common to third-sector scholarship.
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This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitted by 187 of 209 signatories of the Giving Pledge. The philanthropy of the wealthy is gaining increasing public attention and is subject to... more
This study investigates a discourse about billionaire philanthropy established in letters submitted by 187 of 209 signatories of the Giving Pledge. The philanthropy of the wealthy is gaining increasing public attention and is subject to growing criticism, which demands additional study of how the wealthy collectively explain their generosity. The mixed-method analysis finds a strong emphasis on education and health causes and identifies two distinct and coherent rationales for being generous. The majority of letters express a social–normative rationale, consisting of two prevailing explanations: an expressed gratitude and desire to ‘‘give back’’ (1) and references to family upbringing as a socializing force (2). A minority of letters articulate a personal–consequentialist rationale, highlighting three separate explanations: a large inheritance may harm offspring (1), giving as personal gratification (2), and an acknowledgment of excess wealth with no better use (3). An expressed desire to have impact and make a difference appears in both rationales. The overall dominance of a social–normative rationale projects a discourse emphasizing benevolence as well as a narrative in which billionaires are an exceptionally productive and grateful subset of society. While previous studies have primarily focused on identifying individual psychological motives, this study shows how the Giving Pledge letters reflect a philanthropic discourse among the wealthy going back to Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth.
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Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods across the world. One of the most prominent recent expressions of these efforts is the Giving Pledge, created in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates... more
Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods across the world. One of the most prominent recent expressions of these efforts is the Giving Pledge, created in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates in collaboration with Warren Buffett. After a decade of its existence, this analysis of the Giving Pledge population and its commitment letters shows an overall dominance of white, male, and US-based billionaires among the signatories. Tech billionaires are a wealthier and younger subgroup of pledgers than their counterparts in other industries. The pledge letters reveal an emphasis on education and health as dominant philanthropic causes. Among explanations for giving, the four most frequent reasons mentioned are a desire to make a difference, a wish to give back, a sense of personal fulfillment resulting from giving, and references to being socialized into philanthropic giving early in life. While the Giving Pledge is the most prominent global effort to increase philanthropic giving among the wealthy, the voluntary nature and relatively modest commitment goal make it difficult to assess its significance and impact.
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Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their legitimacy. For many critics, they no longer do what their original purpose was. This essay explores a growing gap between the ambitions of... more
Profound changes in how INGOs frame their actions have fundamentally shifted perceptions of their legitimacy. For many critics, they no longer do what their original purpose was. This essay explores a growing gap between the ambitions of INGOs and public perceptions of the sector.
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Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies... more
Legacy advocacy organizations face growing competition from digitally native organizations. Interviews with leaders and staff of both types of organizations reveal that legacy NGOs with professionalized and staff-led advocacy strategies are less comfortable than digital natives to cede substantial control over campaigns to their supporters. At the same time, legacy NGOs and digital natives acknowledge similar challenges with regard to enhancing the civic agency of their supporters. Digital natives are more open to online feedback and supporter-led actions, while both types of organizations report similar challenges in utilizing digital tools for sustained and long-term organizing.
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International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused... more
International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused on elite networks across NGOs, states, and international organizations. This article considers how digital technologies generate new types of networked power between NGOs and their members. Digital tools allow for fast feedback from supporters, rapid surges in mobilization, and more decentralized campaigns. Importantly, in the digital era, NGOs must decide not only which digital platforms to use, but also whether to devolve decision-making to their supporters. Two questions arise: First, do NGO staff or supporters primarily define and produce advocacy content? Second, is the goal of digital activism to broaden or intensify participation? Answers to these questions generate four digital strategies: proselytizing, testing, conversing, and facilitating. These strategies change advocacy practices, but only facilitating strategies open up new forms of networked power based on supporter-to-supporter connections. Digital strategies have profound ramifications for individual organizations, the nature of the advocacy sector, and its power in relation to states, corporations, and other nonstate actors. Digital adoption patterns shape how NGOs choose campaigns, how they legitimate their claims, and what strategies they rely on.
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Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting... more
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’ own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing & outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications for both nonprofit and public management.
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Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their own organization and the external environment. Frequently, these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting... more
Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations
(INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their
own organization and the external environment. Frequently,
these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting
or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is
extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’
own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws
on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with
senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions
are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be
important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view
these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not
they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results
show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant
across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in
collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with
regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships
are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership
and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in
partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of
leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing &
outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible
causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications
for both nonprofit and public management.
(INGOs) navigate daily between the internal politics of their
own organization and the external environment. Frequently,
these leaders have to make decisions with regard to starting
or managing a partnership or collaboration. Although there is
extensive literature on collaboration, rarely have the leaders’
own perceptions been the focus of analysis. This article draws
on transcripts from 137 in-depth, in-person interviews with
senior executives of U.S.-based INGOs. The research questions
are: What leadership skills and behaviors are perceived to be
important among executives of INGOs? and Do leaders view
these skills and behaviors differently based on whether or not
they are involved in collaborative partnerships? The results
show that consensus-driven and visionary leadership are dominant
across all leaders, no matter their level of involvement in
collaborative partnerships. However, we find differences with
regard to other leadership areas. Leaders involved in partnerships
are more likely to emphasize motivational leadership
and relationship management. Leaders who do not work in
partnerships place more emphasis on task-oriented aspects of
leadership: decisiveness, cost-effectiveness, and marketing &
outreach. These results provide new insights into the possible
causes of differences in leadership styles and have implications
for both nonprofit and public management.
The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced convergence over the past decades, particularly as academic programs, conferences, and journals in public administration have increasingly embraced nonprofit... more
The fields of public administration and nonprofit management have experienced
convergence over the past decades, particularly as academic programs, conferences, and journals in public administration have increasingly embraced nonprofit management. Given the significance of this development, the lack of a formal theoretical basis for
convergence is surprising and potentially problematic. This article attempts to formalize such a basis by expositing the shared constitutive features of public and nonprofit management. These features include social goods provision, outcome ambiguity, delegation, and surplus nondistribution. Analysis of these features—and consideration of alternative explanations—demonstrates that a consolidated field of “public and nonprofit management” may be warranted by definite theoretical principles. The existence of this theoretical basis may provide stakeholders with opportunities to approach and manage the process of convergence more strategically.
convergence over the past decades, particularly as academic programs, conferences, and journals in public administration have increasingly embraced nonprofit management. Given the significance of this development, the lack of a formal theoretical basis for
convergence is surprising and potentially problematic. This article attempts to formalize such a basis by expositing the shared constitutive features of public and nonprofit management. These features include social goods provision, outcome ambiguity, delegation, and surplus nondistribution. Analysis of these features—and consideration of alternative explanations—demonstrates that a consolidated field of “public and nonprofit management” may be warranted by definite theoretical principles. The existence of this theoretical basis may provide stakeholders with opportunities to approach and manage the process of convergence more strategically.
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The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the problem of sustainable development is among the most pressing public administration challenges. As principal actors within the international... more
The majority of the world’s population resides in low- and middle-income countries, where the problem of sustainable development is among the most pressing public administration challenges. As principal actors within the international development community, transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a leading role in piloting a wide variety of development-focused strategies. During the past decade, many of these transnational NGOs, along with the United Nations, have embraced a rights-based approach (RBA) to development as an alternative to
traditional service delivery. Despite the growing popularity of RBA among NGOs and other development actors, surprisingly little attention has been paid to understanding the significance of RBA for public administration and for public managers—the “other side of the coin.” Drawing on current research in NGO studies and international development, this article describes several varieties of contemporary rights-based approaches, analyzes their impact on development practices, and examines the intersection of RBA and public administration.
traditional service delivery. Despite the growing popularity of RBA among NGOs and other development actors, surprisingly little attention has been paid to understanding the significance of RBA for public administration and for public managers—the “other side of the coin.” Drawing on current research in NGO studies and international development, this article describes several varieties of contemporary rights-based approaches, analyzes their impact on development practices, and examines the intersection of RBA and public administration.
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Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent in low-and middle-income countries than for others. One reason may be differences in the effectiveness of global health networks, which have... more
Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent in low-and middle-income countries than for others. One reason may be differences in the effectiveness of global health networks, which have proliferated in recent years. Some may be more capable than others in attracting attention to a condition, in generating funding, in developing interventions and in convincing national governments to adopt policies. This article introduces a supplement on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. The supplement examines networks concerned with six global health problems: tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality and newborn deaths. This article presents a conceptual framework delineating factors that may shape why networks crystallize more easily surrounding some issues than others, and once formed, why some are better able than others to shape policy and public health outcomes. All supplement papers draw on this framework. The framework consists of 10 factors in three categories: (1) features of the networks and actors that comprise them, including leadership, governance arrangements, network composition and framing strategies; (2) conditions in the global policy environment, including potential allies and opponents, funding availability and global expectations concerning which issues should be prioritized; (3) and characteristics of the issue, including severity, tractability and affected groups. The article also explains the design of the project, which is grounded in comparison of networks surrounding three matched issues: TB and pneumonia, tobacco use and alcohol harm, and maternal and newborn survival. Despite similar burden and issue characteristics, there has been considerably greater policy traction for the first in each pair. The supplement articles aim to explain the role of networks in shaping these differences, and collectively represent the first comparative effort to understand the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. Global health networks—webs of individuals and organizations linked by a shared concern for a health condition—now exist for most high-burden health problems that low-and middle-income countries face. However, scholars have paid them scant attention, so we know little about their origins and the influence they have in global health.
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Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings... more
Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings from a research project on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks addressing tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although networks are only one of many factors influencing priority, they do matter, particularly for shaping the way the problem and solutions are understood, and convincing governments, international organizations and other global actors to address the issue. Their national-level effects vary by issue and are more difficult to ascertain. Networks are most likely to produce effects when (1) their members construct a compelling framing of the issue, one that includes a shared understanding of the problem, a consensus on solutions and convincing reasons to act and (2) they build a political coalition that includes individuals and organizations beyond their traditional base in the health sector, a task that demands engagement in the politics of the issue, not just its technical aspects. Maintaining a focused frame and sustaining a broad coalition are often in tension: effective networks find ways to balance the two challenges. The emergence and effectiveness of a network are shaped both by its members’ decisions and by contextual factors, including historical influences (e.g. prior failed attempts to address the problem), features of the policy environment (e.g. global development goals) and characteristics of the issue the network addresses (e.g. its mortality burden). Their proliferation raises the issue of their legitimacy. Reasons to consider them legitimate include their members’ expertise and the attention they bring to neglected issues. Reasons to question their legitimacy include their largely elite composition and the fragmentation they bring to global health governance.
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Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Both issues have gained increased international attention, but tobacco control has made... more
Smoking and drinking constitute two risk factors contributing to the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Both issues have gained increased international attention, but tobacco control has made more sustained progress in terms of international and domestic policy commitments, resources dedicated to reducing harm, and reduction of tobacco use in many high-income countries. The research presented here offers insights into why risk factors with comparable levels of harm experience different trajectories of global attention. The analysis focuses particular attention on the role of dedicated global health networks composed of individuals and organizations producing research and engaging in advocacy on a given health problem. Variation in issue characteristics and the policy environment shape the opportunities and challenges of global health networks focused on reducing the burden of disease. What sets the tobacco case apart was the ability of tobacco control advocates to create and maintain a consensus on policy solutions, expand their reach in low- and middle-income countries and combine evidence-
based research with advocacy reaching beyond the public health-centered focus of the core network. In contrast, a similar network in the alcohol case struggled with expanding its reach and has yet to overcome divisions based on competing problem definitions and solutions to alcohol harm. The tobacco control network evolved from a group of dedicated individuals to a global coalition of membership-based organizations, whereas the alcohol control network remains at the stage of a collection of dedicated and like-minded individuals.
based research with advocacy reaching beyond the public health-centered focus of the core network. In contrast, a similar network in the alcohol case struggled with expanding its reach and has yet to overcome divisions based on competing problem definitions and solutions to alcohol harm. The tobacco control network evolved from a group of dedicated individuals to a global coalition of membership-based organizations, whereas the alcohol control network remains at the stage of a collection of dedicated and like-minded individuals.
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Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study... more
Global efforts to address alcohol harm have significantly increased since the mid-1990s. By 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) had adopted the non-binding Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. This study investigates the role of a global health network, anchored by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA), which has used scientific evidence on harm and effective interventions to advocate for greater global public health efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The study uses process-tracing methodology and expert interviews to evaluate the accomplishments and limitations of this network. The study documents how network members have not only contributed to greater global awareness about alcohol harm, but also advanced a public health approach to addressing this issue at the global level. Although the current network represents an expanding global coalition of like-minded individuals, it faces considerable challenges in advancing its cause towards successful implementation of effective alcohol control policies across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The analysis reveals a need to transform the network into a formal coalition of regional and national organizations that represent a broader variety of constituents, including the medical community, consumer groups and development-focused non-governmental organizations. Considering the growing harm of alcohol abuse in LMICs and the availability of proven and cost-effective public health interventions, alcohol control represents an excellent ‘buy’ for donors interested in addressing non-communicable diseases. Alcohol control has broad beneficial effects for human development, including promoting road safety and reducing domestic violence and health care costs across a wide variety of illnesses caused by alcohol consumption.
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Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animated by global norms to advance human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian relief, environmental stewardship, and conflict resolution.... more
Scholarship has traditionally portrayed transnational NGOs (TNGOs) as ‘principled’ actors animated by global norms to advance human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian relief, environmental stewardship, and conflict resolution. However, scholarship has also identified instances in which TNGOs appear to act ‘instrumentally’ by engaging in resource-maximising behaviour seemingly inconsistent with their principled nature. Moreover, prior scholarship addressing this puzzle has been constrained by the limitations of small-n case studies examining relatively narrow subsectors of the TNGO community. Addressing these limitations, we reexamine the logic of TNGO behaviour in light of findings from an interdisciplinary, mixed-method research initiative consisting of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a diverse sample of 152 top organisational leaders from all major sectors of TNGO activity. Using an inductive approach to discover how TNGO leaders understand their own behaviour, we introduce the heuristic of ‘principled instrumentalism’ and specify our framework with a formal model.
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Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. This rapid growth has created some confusion about terminology and approaches to research in the field. We organize the network literature... more
Network-focused research in public administration has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. This rapid growth has created some confusion about terminology and approaches to research in the field. We organize the network literature in public administration using compact citation networks to identify coherent subdomains focused on (1) policy formation, (2) governance and (3) policy implementation. We trace how these domains differ in their approach to defining the role of networks, relationships and actors and to what extent the articles apply formal network analysis techniques. Based on a subsequent content analysis of the sample articles, we identify promising research avenues focused on the wider adoption of methods derived from social network analysis and the conditions under which networks actually deliver improved results.
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Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporate interest in establishing credentials for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this article, we show how increasing demands for... more
Interactions between corporations and nonprofits are on the rise, frequently driven by a corporate interest in establishing credentials for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this article, we show how increasing demands for accountability directed at both businesses and NGOs can have the unintended effect of compromising the autonomy of nonprofits and fostering their co-optation. Greater scrutiny of NGO spending driven by self-appointed watchdogs of the nonprofit sector and a prevalence of strategic notions of CSR advanced by corporate actors weaken the ability of civil society actors to change the business practices of their partners in the commercial sector. To counter this trend, we argue that corporations should embrace a political notion of CSR and should actively encourage NGOs to strengthen “downward accountability” mechanisms, even if this creates more tensions in corporate–NGO partnerships. Rather than seeing NGOs as tools in a competition for a comparative advantage in the market place, corporations should actively support NGO independence and critical capacity.
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Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working across borders face increased accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how... more
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working across borders face increased
accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability
practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how accountability
is perceived and practiced across different organizational settings. In interviews
with NGO leaders we find aspirations to make accountability more meaningful and
integrated, in particular by listening more to stakeholders other than donors. However,
these aspirations are rarely put in practice and leaders continue to highlight traditional
means such as financial accounting. This gap is particularly pronounced for smaller
organizations and reflects an increasingly competitive environment shaped by rating
agencies and a focus on financial metrics. To move from aspirations to practice, NGOs
have to be willing to share more meaningful information about their work and outcomes
with stakeholders. Practicing transparency that empowers beneficiaries is central to
effective organizational learning and balancing demands from different stakeholders.
accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability
practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how accountability
is perceived and practiced across different organizational settings. In interviews
with NGO leaders we find aspirations to make accountability more meaningful and
integrated, in particular by listening more to stakeholders other than donors. However,
these aspirations are rarely put in practice and leaders continue to highlight traditional
means such as financial accounting. This gap is particularly pronounced for smaller
organizations and reflects an increasingly competitive environment shaped by rating
agencies and a focus on financial metrics. To move from aspirations to practice, NGOs
have to be willing to share more meaningful information about their work and outcomes
with stakeholders. Practicing transparency that empowers beneficiaries is central to
effective organizational learning and balancing demands from different stakeholders.
Research Interests:
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working across borders face increased accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how... more
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working across borders face increased
accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability
practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how accountability
is perceived and practiced across different organizational settings. In interviews
with NGO leaders we find aspirations to make accountability more meaningful and
integrated, in particular by listening more to stakeholders other than donors. However,
these aspirations are rarely put in practice and leaders continue to highlight traditional
means such as financial accounting. This gap is particularly pronounced for smaller
organizations and reflects an increasingly competitive environment shaped by rating
agencies and a focus on financial metrics. To move from aspirations to practice, NGOs
have to be willing to share more meaningful information about their work and outcomes
with stakeholders. Practicing transparency that empowers beneficiaries is central to
effective organizational learning and balancing demands from different stakeholders.
accountability demands. Although many have proposed ways of changing accountability
practices, the debate is rarely informed by leaders’ perspectives of how accountability
is perceived and practiced across different organizational settings. In interviews
with NGO leaders we find aspirations to make accountability more meaningful and
integrated, in particular by listening more to stakeholders other than donors. However,
these aspirations are rarely put in practice and leaders continue to highlight traditional
means such as financial accounting. This gap is particularly pronounced for smaller
organizations and reflects an increasingly competitive environment shaped by rating
agencies and a focus on financial metrics. To move from aspirations to practice, NGOs
have to be willing to share more meaningful information about their work and outcomes
with stakeholders. Practicing transparency that empowers beneficiaries is central to
effective organizational learning and balancing demands from different stakeholders.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Human rights-based approaches (HRBAs) promise greater alignment of development efforts with universal norms, as well as a focus on the root causes of poverty. While HRBAs have been widely adopted across the development sector, there is... more
Human rights-based approaches (HRBAs) promise greater alignment of development efforts with universal norms, as well as a focus on the root causes of poverty. While HRBAs have been widely adopted across the development sector, there is little systematic evidence about the actual impact of this strategic shift. Evaluating the effectiveness of HRBAs is challenging because various non-governmental and other organizations have developed very different understandings of how to apply a rights-based framework in the development context. This essay takes a step toward the rigorous evaluation of HRBAs by offering a comprehensive review of rights-based programming implemented by Plan International, a child-centered organization. It shows that Plan's adoption of HRBA-inspired strategies has transformed its interactions with local communities and added an explicit focus on the state as the primary duty bearer. There is evidence for a systematic increase in individual rights awareness, greater ownership exercised by community organizations, and the application of evidence-based advocacy aimed at scaling up proven program activities. But Plan's peculiar brand of HRBA neglects collaboration with domestic social movements and civil society, largely avoids a more confrontational approach towards the state, and has yet to produce evidence for regular successful rights claims by disadvantaged communities against governmental representatives at local, regional, or national levels. The study also reveals a limited ability of Plan to address disparities and discrimination within local communities, as well as a need to define clearly the organization's own accountability and duties deriving from its presence in local communities across more than fifty developing nations.
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NGO/NPO effectiveness remains a prominent concern for scholars and practitioners, but the literature on this issue is increasingly fragmented along disciplinary lines. We address this problem by presenting a comprehensive and... more
NGO/NPO effectiveness remains a prominent concern for scholars and practitioners, but the literature on this issue is increasingly fragmented along disciplinary lines. We address this problem by presenting a comprehensive and interdisciplinary review of the literature on NGO and NPO effectiveness using citation analysis. In order to uncover commonalities across disciplines concerned with similar questions, we deploy a structured literature review using snowball sampling within citation networks. This approach limits author biases, fosters an interdisciplinary perspective, and adds a different methodological approach to conventional content-based literature reviews. Our review uncovers three trends: (1) there is broad scholarly consensus that unidimensional measures of effectiveness are not useful—even though such measures are commonly used by NGO/NPO rating agencies; (2) the scholarship on NGO/NPO effectiveness is dominated by conceptual works, while empirical studies remain rare; (3) a consensus on how to operationalize effectiveness remains elusive. These results suggest that progress in our understanding of NGO/NPO effectiveness requires enhanced efforts at crossing disciplinary divides, adding empirical analyses, and increasing attention to develop shared categories and methodologies.
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This article explores the evolution of transnational human rights activism since the end of World War II. It argues that the scholarly literature has focused too much attention on how interests and principles drive transnational... more
This article explores the evolution of transnational human rights activism since the end of World War II. It argues that the scholarly literature has focused too much attention on how interests and principles drive transnational mobilisation, while neglecting the profound evolutionary changes within the sector itself. In challenging interest-based explanations of human rights activism, we show that human rights groups have shifted from predominantly reactive ‘shaming’ strategies to more proactive efforts designed to address root causes of gross violations.
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Transnational human rights activism occupies today a significant place in the practice and scholarship of current global affairs. This article reviews the past successes and limits of this activism and suggests Human Rights Education... more
Transnational human rights activism occupies today a significant place in the practice and scholarship of current global affairs. This article reviews the past successes and limits of this activism and suggests Human Rights Education (HRE) as a strategic tool currently underutilized by activists and rarely taken seriously by academics. We argue that the current practice of transnational human rights activism frequently lacks solid and reciprocal ties to local activists and emphasizes “shaming” and exposure of human rights abuses over their prevention. The professionalization and campaign driven character of rights activism often increases the distance between transnational activists and local causes and beneficiaries and disconnects the general public from human rights struggles. While claims of impartial activism based on legalistic strategies have the benefit of lifting human rights groups above the fray of politics, the promotion of human rights norms remains a deeply political and contentious struggle. We argue that a greater emphasis on HRE strengthens transnational ties and local support for international human rights standards and leads to societal mobilization beyond the narrow nongovernmental sector.
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The disciplinary separation between comparative politics and international relations is regularly challenged but persists as a result of institutional inertia and hiring practices. This essay uses the issue of democratization in an... more
The disciplinary separation between comparative politics and international relations is regularly challenged but persists as a result of institutional inertia and hiring practices. This essay uses the issue of democratization in an attempt to go beyond rhetoric and to develop a framework that integrates the role of transnational activism into the analysis of domestic regime change. Comparative research on democratization confirms that underlying socioeconomic conditions affect the long-term sustainability of democratic reforms. The initiation of such reforms, as well as the process they take, can best be understood using an agency-based framework that links domestic and transnational forces. Outside interventions are a potent factor in challenging authoritarian practices, but they do not simply displace existing domestic practices and conditions. Although transnational activists and scholars often celebrate the empowering role of networking and mobilization, the long-term effects of such interventions are still poorly understood. Transnational ties may distract domestic activists from building effective coalitions at home or undermine their legitimacy overall. Transnational scholars and activists can learn from comparative research how different domestic groups use outside interventions to promote their interests at home.
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Unter welchen Bedingungen werden internationale Menschenrechtsnormen in die innenpolitische Praxis von Staaten internalisiert? Wie ist die beträchtliche Varianz in der Implementation von Menschenrechtsnormen zu erklären? Der Aufsatz... more
Unter welchen Bedingungen werden internationale Menschenrechtsnormen in die
innenpolitische Praxis von Staaten internalisiert? Wie ist die beträchtliche Varianz
in der Implementation von Menschenrechtsnormen zu erklären? Der Aufsatz untersucht insbesondere die Rolle transnationaler Menschenrechtsnetzwerke bei der innenpolitischen Durchsetzung internationaler Menschenrechtsnormen in ausgewählten Ländern des Südens (Kenia, Uganda, Tunesien, Marokko, Indonesien, Philippinen). Es wird argumentiert, daß deren Diffusion und Durchsetzung entscheidend davon abhängt, ob es diesen transnationalen Netzwerken gelingt, sowohl Druck »von oben« als auch »von unten« auf die Zielregierungen zu erzeugen. Dies streben die Netzwerke an, indem sie zum einen westliche Staaten und deren öffentliche Meinung sowie internationale Organisationen mobilisieren, zum anderen dauerhafte Verbindungen zur gesellschaftlichen Opposition in den menschenrechtsverletzenden Staaten herstellen. Dazu entwickeln wir ein Spiralmodell innenpolitischen Wandels. Dieses integriert systematisch Aktivitäten auf der internationalen, transnationalen und innenpolitischen Ebene. Den Prozeß der Verinnerlichung internationaler Menschenrechtsstandards bezeichnen wir als Sozialisierung und unterscheiden drei Idealtypen von Sozialisationsprozessen, die auf unterschiedlichen Handlungsmodi beruhen: (1) strategisches Verhandeln (bargaining) und instrumentelle Anpassung; (2) moralische Bewußtseinsbildung, Argumentation und kommunikative Überzeugungsprozesse; (3) Institutionalisierung und Habitualisierung.
innenpolitische Praxis von Staaten internalisiert? Wie ist die beträchtliche Varianz
in der Implementation von Menschenrechtsnormen zu erklären? Der Aufsatz untersucht insbesondere die Rolle transnationaler Menschenrechtsnetzwerke bei der innenpolitischen Durchsetzung internationaler Menschenrechtsnormen in ausgewählten Ländern des Südens (Kenia, Uganda, Tunesien, Marokko, Indonesien, Philippinen). Es wird argumentiert, daß deren Diffusion und Durchsetzung entscheidend davon abhängt, ob es diesen transnationalen Netzwerken gelingt, sowohl Druck »von oben« als auch »von unten« auf die Zielregierungen zu erzeugen. Dies streben die Netzwerke an, indem sie zum einen westliche Staaten und deren öffentliche Meinung sowie internationale Organisationen mobilisieren, zum anderen dauerhafte Verbindungen zur gesellschaftlichen Opposition in den menschenrechtsverletzenden Staaten herstellen. Dazu entwickeln wir ein Spiralmodell innenpolitischen Wandels. Dieses integriert systematisch Aktivitäten auf der internationalen, transnationalen und innenpolitischen Ebene. Den Prozeß der Verinnerlichung internationaler Menschenrechtsstandards bezeichnen wir als Sozialisierung und unterscheiden drei Idealtypen von Sozialisationsprozessen, die auf unterschiedlichen Handlungsmodi beruhen: (1) strategisches Verhandeln (bargaining) und instrumentelle Anpassung; (2) moralische Bewußtseinsbildung, Argumentation und kommunikative Überzeugungsprozesse; (3) Institutionalisierung und Habitualisierung.
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Dieser Artikel widmet sich der neorealistischen Interpretation der Nord-Süd-Beziehungen, wie sie von Stephen D. Krasner mit seinem Buch »Structural Conflict: The Third World Against Global Liberalism« vorgelegt wurde. Mit Bezug auf die... more
Dieser Artikel widmet sich der neorealistischen Interpretation der Nord-Süd-Beziehungen,
wie sie von Stephen D. Krasner mit seinem Buch »Structural Conflict: The
Third World Against Global Liberalism« vorgelegt wurde. Mit Bezug auf die Debatte
über eine Neue Weltinformations- und -kommunikationsordnung während der
70er und 80er Jahre wird seine Argumentation zusammengefaßt und kritisch diskutiert.
Daraus folgt, daß eine Erklärung des Verlaufs und Ergebnisses dieser Debatte
sich nicht allein auf die jeweiligen materiellen Machtressourcen der beteiligten Akteure
stützen kann, sondern andere Faktoren beinhalten muß. Zu diesen zählen (1)
die Normen, denen die USA nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs globale Geltung
verschafften, (2) die internationalen Organisationen als Träger solcher Normen
und (3) subsystemische Determinanten außenpolitischer Entscheidungen.
wie sie von Stephen D. Krasner mit seinem Buch »Structural Conflict: The
Third World Against Global Liberalism« vorgelegt wurde. Mit Bezug auf die Debatte
über eine Neue Weltinformations- und -kommunikationsordnung während der
70er und 80er Jahre wird seine Argumentation zusammengefaßt und kritisch diskutiert.
Daraus folgt, daß eine Erklärung des Verlaufs und Ergebnisses dieser Debatte
sich nicht allein auf die jeweiligen materiellen Machtressourcen der beteiligten Akteure
stützen kann, sondern andere Faktoren beinhalten muß. Zu diesen zählen (1)
die Normen, denen die USA nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs globale Geltung
verschafften, (2) die internationalen Organisationen als Träger solcher Normen
und (3) subsystemische Determinanten außenpolitischer Entscheidungen.
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Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged... more
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged in the twentieth century following both World Wars. A more sustained movement toward international criminal responsibility spread from the post-authoritarian context of Latin American transitions of the 1980s. While proponents of such trials have argued that they deter future atrocities and are less costly than humanitarian interventions, many of the claims about the trials’ impact require more research. Considering research across a wide-range of transnational issues, the key lessons for TANs include moving beyond “naming and shaming” approaches, giving local populations more control over trials and other post-violence measures, and accepting that prosecutions rarely address root causes of widespread violence and should be part of a broader mix of measures designed to represent a true break with the past.
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This essay explores the transnational mechanisms affecting the violent struggle of the Lord's Resistance Army. In order to understand better new forms of post-Cold War violent conflict, a growing body of research focuses on the... more
This essay explores the transnational mechanisms affecting the violent struggle of the Lord's Resistance Army. In order to understand better new forms of post-Cold War violent conflict, a growing body of research focuses on the transnational dimensions of these struggles. Many of the recent quantitative studies addressing such questions have highlighted the role of diaspora support or the ability of rebel groups to retreat across state borders. But most of these studies are content with claims that such factors matter for outbreak and perpetuation of violence without showing how they specifically play into the mobilization of resources, changes in framing the violence, and choices of targets and strategies. Such analyses also largely fail to look at the interactions between transnational mechanisms and other, more locally driven factors that may mediate or even render external influences ineffective. Finally, rarely do studies explore the interaction between transnational mechanisms sustaining the violence and countervailing transnational efforts designed to end it.
While greater attention to local grievances debunks persistent myths framing LRA violence as 'irrational,' a focus on transnational mechanisms sheds light on shifts in a rebel movement’s environment that are equally relevant to developing more effective interventions. The continued international preference for a military response reflects a limited grasp of both the local and the transnational dimensions of this conflict. As a result, the international community time and again fails to develop effective strategies to protect civilians. President Obama’s October 2011 decision to deploy an additional 100 U.S. forces to eliminate the LRA represents a continuation of such failed external efforts.
While greater attention to local grievances debunks persistent myths framing LRA violence as 'irrational,' a focus on transnational mechanisms sheds light on shifts in a rebel movement’s environment that are equally relevant to developing more effective interventions. The continued international preference for a military response reflects a limited grasp of both the local and the transnational dimensions of this conflict. As a result, the international community time and again fails to develop effective strategies to protect civilians. President Obama’s October 2011 decision to deploy an additional 100 U.S. forces to eliminate the LRA represents a continuation of such failed external efforts.
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This report focuses on three arenas in which promising democratic innovations are emerging: human rights based approaches to democratization, welfare, and development; participatory governance; and, economic citizenship. One of our main... more
This report focuses on three arenas in which promising democratic innovations are emerging: human rights based approaches to democratization, welfare, and development; participatory governance; and, economic citizenship. One of our main aims is to draw attention to some crucial themes and objectives they share in common: deepening democracy; enhancing collective and individual agency; reducing poverty; achieving greater equality of wealth, income, power, respect, influence, legal status, or opportunity; and, cultivating solidarity in democratic communities. We view these as imperatives for revitalizing democracy in our volatile world, and the innovations we highlight throughout have been selected to illustrate how this revitalization might take place.
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The rights based approach to development is increasingly popular, but more rights-based money isn’t the answer to the world’s ills. Rights-based practitioners will have to do a better job of evaluating their own efforts, helping local... more
The rights based approach to development is increasingly popular, but more rights-based money isn’t the answer to the world’s ills. Rights-based practitioners will have to do a better job of evaluating their own efforts, helping local communities organize, and overcoming disincentives to collaboration.
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In 2003, Plan International adopted a Child-Centered Community Development (CCCD) approach as its international framework for its programmatic work. CCCD reframes some familiar tools of Plan’s work, including capacity-building and... more
In 2003, Plan International adopted a Child-Centered Community Development (CCCD) approach as its international framework for its programmatic work. CCCD reframes some familiar tools of Plan’s work, including capacity-building and participation, while also expanding into new strategic areas, such as addressing national level policies and legislation and developing more holistic crosslevel activities and partnerships. Plan’s shift to CCCD represents a significant shift in the organization’s approach to its development work. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of how CCCD enhances Plan’s program effectiveness and sustainability by
reviewing all available single-program, external evaluations completed between 2007 and 2010 in the areas of water and sanitation, education, and health.
reviewing all available single-program, external evaluations completed between 2007 and 2010 in the areas of water and sanitation, education, and health.
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The subject of the study is regime change understood as the modification of broadly defined political institutions and practices governing domestic politics. Democratization is a possible outcome of such a process if the modification of... more
The subject of the study is regime change understood as the modification of broadly defined political institutions and practices governing domestic politics. Democratization is a possible outcome of such a process if the modification of political institutions and practices reflects convergence with a particular set of liberal ideas and norms. During the last 25 years the interest of political scientists in such processes has steadily grown. Democratization spread from Southern Europe in the 1970s to Latin America in the 1980s and finally reached Eastern Europe and the other continents in the late 1980s and early 1990s. More recently, some have diagnosed an 'ebbing' of the wave. While the empirical record of the 'third wave' is mixed, its profound effects on the way the academic community studies democratization are undeniable. The new cases o f democratization led during the 1980s to a paradigm shift away from structuralist explanations towards more contingency-driven and agency-based approaches. Challenges to the modernization school or cultural explanations of democratic change highlighted cases of regime change under structurally unfavorable conditions and called for greater attention towards the role of political actors, institutions, and contingencies.
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The promotion of democracy and human rights has become a central part of donor and non-governmental activism in Africa. Transnational human rights organizations play an increasingly prominent role in shaping donor agendas as well as the... more
The promotion of democracy and human rights has become a central part of donor and non-governmental activism in Africa. Transnational human rights organizations play an increasingly prominent role in shaping donor agendas as well as the domestic politics of regime change. How successful are these efforts to promote principles of democracy and human rights from the outside? This book answers this question based on a comparison of regime change in Kenya and Uganda from the 1980s until today. It is the first systematic effort to bring together the comparative democratization literature and the recent work of International Relations scholars exploring the role of transnational advocacy networks.
Principled mobilization for human rights is more successful in challenging authoritarian rule than in building sustainable democratic institutions. Beyond forcing an authoritarian regime into initial political reforms, external interventions distract domestic allies from building strong networks and provide significant mobilizing opportunities to those opposing democratic change.
Principled mobilization for human rights is more successful in challenging authoritarian rule than in building sustainable democratic institutions. Beyond forcing an authoritarian regime into initial political reforms, external interventions distract domestic allies from building strong networks and provide significant mobilizing opportunities to those opposing democratic change.
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International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic... more
International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic others to increase their own legitimacy. States are characterized by their exclusive control over a territory, a population, the means of violence, and their right to representation in international affairs. Many transnational NGOs eschew exclusive control over a territory or the monopoly of violence, but they use specific strategies to mimic the state model. Non-governmental organizations often create a membership base (“population”), a hierarchical and professional governance structure (“government”), independent research capabilities (“intelligence”), a coherent set of goals pursued against other state and non-state entities (“foreign policy”), and an often contentious repertoire of activism (“diplomacy”).
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Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism... more
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism have shaped global systems of human rights protection. The study contrasts the institutional evolution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the legally-binding Genocide Convention (GC), and investigates how the transnational human rights movement and its principles have shaped international responses to genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda. The paper argues that individualism and universalism have pushed the UDHR into the center of framing human rights issues (including TAN missions), while limiting the role of the group-focused GC in shaping responses to atrocities. This explanation complements existing studies explaining variation in treaty commitments focusing primarily on domestic-level attributes or the substance of treaty obligations. Rather than regime type or costs of compliance, this paper highlights how the international community has come to understand bodily harm primarily within an individualistic and universal frame. While the language of individual rights generates powerful normative mobilization, it generates a particular lens of understanding bodily harm.
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Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged in... more
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) focused on human rights advocacy have played a significant role in making prosecutions of former government officials for major crimes a norm in international politics. Tthe idea initially emerged in the twentieth century following both World Wars. A more sustained movement toward international criminal responsibility spread from the post-authoritarian context of Latin American transitions of the 1980s. While proponents of such trials have argued that they deter future atrocities and are less costly than humanitarian interventions, many of the claims about the trials’ impact require more research. Considering research across a wide-range of transnational issues, the key lessons for TANs include moving beyond “naming and shaming” approaches, giving local populations more control over trials and other post-violence measures, and accepting that prosecutions rarely address root causes of widespread violence and should be part of a broader mix of me...
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International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic... more
International NGOs become viable “global players” when they selectively emulate states and their desire for autonomy as a prerequisite for influence. Actors in the global system are drawn towards similar forms of organization and mimic others to increase their own legitimacy. States are characterized by their exclusive control over a territory, a population, the means of violence, and their right to representation in international affairs. Many transnational NGOs eschew exclusive control over a territory or the monopoly of violence, but they use specific strategies to mimic the state model. Non-governmental organizations often create a membership base (“population”), a hierarchical and professional governance structure (“government”), independent research capabilities (“intelligence”), a coherent set of goals pursued against other state and non-state entities (“foreign policy”), and an often contentious repertoire of activism (“diplomacy”).
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This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first section of this chapter provides a description of the political developments in Kenya and Uganda prior to the onset of transnational mobilization against authoritarian rule.... more
This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first section of this chapter provides a description of the political developments in Kenya and Uganda prior to the onset of transnational mobilization against authoritarian rule. Differences in the initiation of regime change are the result of variation of authoritarian rule emerging after political independence. Transnational mobilization against authoritarian rule targeted both countries with similar strength, but produced a fundamental regime change in Uganda in 1986 and more limited political reforms in Kenya in 1991. Transnational mobilization and domestic conditions create distinct paths of political change.
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Chapter 2 deals with two concepts.1 The first two sections define democracy as a political system maximizing popular participation organized in periodic electoral contests. The rest of the chapter adds a transnational dimension to the... more
Chapter 2 deals with two concepts.1 The first two sections define democracy as a political system maximizing popular participation organized in periodic electoral contests. The rest of the chapter adds a transnational dimension to the comparative study of democratization. The transnational mobilization for democratic change is particularly relevant in challenging authoritarian rule. In later stages external influences combine with domestic factors to produce variation in the paths of regime change. Transnational mobilization not only decreases in importance during later stages of regime change, but also produces more ambiguous effects on democratic change. External actors find it easier to join domestic groups in challenges to authoritarian leaders than to contribute positively to the creation and consolidation of democratic practices.
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Transnational human rights groups reframed the international image of East African governments during the 1970s and 1980s. Uganda’s Amin and Obote in his second term as well as Kenya’s Moi after 1985 all faced significant principled... more
Transnational human rights groups reframed the international image of East African governments during the 1970s and 1980s. Uganda’s Amin and Obote in his second term as well as Kenya’s Moi after 1985 all faced significant principled international challenges to their domestic rule. The mobilization created, empowered, and protected domestic allies in support of human rights. Although responses by the UN and donor governments were slow and ineffective, the targeted governments did not simply ignore the challenge but were vulnerable to the published information and sought to counteract the efforts to de-legitimize their rule. This pressure played a crucial role in bringing about democratic reforms in both nations.
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This forum seeks to honor the contributions of a scholar who has greatly influenced international relations (IR) scholarship on transnational relations and constructivist research: Thomas Risse. Best known for his pathbreaking studies on... more
This forum seeks to honor the contributions of a scholar who has greatly influenced international relations (IR) scholarship on transnational relations and constructivist research: Thomas Risse. Best known for his pathbreaking studies on the importance of transnational actors, the power of international norms and ideas in international relations, and the influence of domestic structures on international interactions, his work has significantly contributed to several interrelated research agendas within IR. The forum takes a fresh look at some of his contributions, focusing on assumptions about the nature of non-state actors, the content of human rights, and the evolution of knowledge that underpin his work. Interrogating especially some of the liberal assumptions that have informed these lines of research, we ask: are we still dealing with the same kinds of non-state actors that Thomas Risse and early constructivist research have analyzed? How has the nature of these actors changed,...
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Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism... more
Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have promoted norms of universal human rights as well as individual criminal accountability as answers to atrocities. This paper explores in what ways principles of individualization and universalism have shaped global systems of human rights protection. The study contrasts the institutional evolution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the legally-binding Genocide Convention (GC), and investigates how the transnational human rights movement and its principles have shaped international responses to genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda. The paper argues that individualism and universalism have pushed the UDHR into the center of framing human rights issues (including TAN missions), while limiting the role of the group-focused GC in shaping responses to atrocities. This explanation complements existing studies explaining variation in treaty commitments focusing primarily on domestic-level attributes or the substance of treaty obligations. Rather than regime type or costs of compliance, this paper highlights how the international community has come to understand bodily harm primarily within an individualistic and universal frame. While the language of individual rights generates powerful normative mobilization, it generates a particular lens of understanding bodily harm.
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A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to “decolonize” their practices, to “shift the power” to the Global South, and to put an end to “white saviorism” by... more
A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to “decolonize” their practices, to “shift the power” to the Global South, and to put an end to “white saviorism” by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs’ ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs’ struggles to adapt in response to their critics are the result of TNGOs’ “nonprofitness.” By virtue of being nonprofit, TNGOs are embedded in an architecture consisting of forms and norms that inherently limit the extent to which they are able to change. Using the construct of the architecture, this article provides a novel account for the challenges that ...
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Chapter 4 explains why and how TNGOs have become powerful advocates in global affairs. It argues that TNGOs were at the “right place at the right time” and benefited from favorable geopolitical conditions in previous decades. The chapter... more
Chapter 4 explains why and how TNGOs have become powerful advocates in global affairs. It argues that TNGOs were at the “right place at the right time” and benefited from favorable geopolitical conditions in previous decades. The chapter examines the nature of TNGO power historically and explains how TNGOs have exerted influence throughout various stages of the policy process, including issue emergence, agenda-setting, policy formation, and policy implementation. Even as TNGOs have largely benefited from professionalized activism and elite access, their power today may be plateauing, if not waning, because of a less favorable operating environment and the increasing incongruity between their contemporary ambitions and their legacy forms and norms. Such conditions suggest that the sector is likely to struggle to live up to its rhetoric of social transformation without significant changes.
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Chapter 12 summarizes the main themes of the book, with an emphasis on how the sector’s future potential remains constrained by its normative and institutional architecture. To help ensure future success, TNGOs can invest in... more
Chapter 12 summarizes the main themes of the book, with an emphasis on how the sector’s future potential remains constrained by its normative and institutional architecture. To help ensure future success, TNGOs can invest in organizational metamorphosis and sector-wide collective action. Metamorphosis may involve a polycentric model, embracing a facilitation role, adopting a hybrid model, engaging in deeper collaborations, pursuing mergers and acquisitions, and investing in operational platforms. However, such initiatives will require significant change leadership, which introduces its own substantial challenges. Ultimately, TNGOs can best serve their missions not only by changing themselves, but by also organizing collectively to change the architecture in which they operate.
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Chapter 3 describes major shifts in the strategic orientations of TNGOs that represent a concerted movement from their historical roots as charitable conduits to social and political change agents seeking sustainable impact and long-term... more
Chapter 3 describes major shifts in the strategic orientations of TNGOs that represent a concerted movement from their historical roots as charitable conduits to social and political change agents seeking sustainable impact and long-term transformations. Three illustrative strategic shifts—from direct service delivery to championing rights and supporting entrepreneurship; from reactive advocacy to proactive global campaigning; and from capacity-building to systems thinking—underscore the growing mismatch between the inherited institutional and normative features of the architecture and the sector’s contemporary ambitions and strategies. The evolution in TNGO strategies over the past several decades suggests new future roles for TNGOs, but future-oriented change is complicated by the need to overcome architectural challenges and confront past legacies.
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Chapter 1 outlines how geopolitical shifts, increasing demands for accountability, and growing competition are driving the need for change within the TNGO sector. TNGOs are responding to these change drivers with specific initiatives... more
Chapter 1 outlines how geopolitical shifts, increasing demands for accountability, and growing competition are driving the need for change within the TNGO sector. TNGOs are responding to these change drivers with specific initiatives intended to secure their future relevance and effectiveness, but their efforts are constrained by institutional and cultural legacies—forms and norms—that inhibit the sector’s ability to adapt. This chapter elaborates on these major change drivers and characterizes the obstacles to successful adaptation. It also identifies the types of TNGOs emphasized in this book, briefly describes general trends in the TNGO sector, overviews the main topics discussed throughout subsequent chapters, and describes the overall organization of the book.
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Chapter 7 describes innovations in TNGO measurement and evaluation practices and considers the many internal and external challenges that organizations confront as they attempt to bring their measurement capabilities into better alignment... more
Chapter 7 describes innovations in TNGO measurement and evaluation practices and considers the many internal and external challenges that organizations confront as they attempt to bring their measurement capabilities into better alignment with their rhetoric about achieving impact. An enhanced focus on assessing effectiveness and impact at the program and organizational levels requires not only strategic investments that are hard to make, but also broader cultural changes in how TNGOs and their staff think about organizational learning and their roles in bringing about social change. Despite being an area where many organizations still struggle, TNGOs will need to improve their measurement and evaluation capabilities to demonstrate their value and relevance and satisfy changing legitimacy expectations that increasingly emphasize data and results.
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Chapter 5 explores how the foundations for TNGO legitimacy have changed over time, creating imperatives for TNGOs to invest in new capabilities and adopt new practices. In the past, TNGOs derived legitimacy from their espoused principles,... more
Chapter 5 explores how the foundations for TNGO legitimacy have changed over time, creating imperatives for TNGOs to invest in new capabilities and adopt new practices. In the past, TNGOs derived legitimacy from their espoused principles, representational claims, elite expertise, demonstrated financial stewardship, commitment to charity, and patterns of conformity. More recently, TNGOs themselves have helped to bring about a shift toward new bases for legitimacy that focus on effectiveness, strategy, leadership, governance, transparency, and responsiveness. However, transitioning to the legitimacy practices of the future is complicated by the persistence of an antiquated architecture that still demands that TNGO conform to legacy expectations. Nevertheless, new approaches to enhancing legitimacy provide a wide range of opportunities that invite organizations to proactively align their aspirations with emerging stakeholder expectations.
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Chapter 2 identifies a disharmony between the “soul” and the “body” of the TNGO. Drawing on theoretical insights and cultural observations, the chapter examines the sources of the difficulties that many TNGOs have encountered in their... more
Chapter 2 identifies a disharmony between the “soul” and the “body” of the TNGO. Drawing on theoretical insights and cultural observations, the chapter examines the sources of the difficulties that many TNGOs have encountered in their attempts to adapt for the future. The chapter explains how the TNGO is embodied in a particular institutional form and is embedded in a particular normative context that together constitute an “architecture” that constrains the potential of TNGOs to successfully assume new roles. The analysis establishes an understanding of how legacy structures, beliefs, and practices limit the abilities of TNGOs to adapt to their changing external environment and realize their expanding aspirations.
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Chapter 6 examines an array of strategic options provided by digital tools, including broadcasting, analytics, convening, and distributed organizing. Such digital strategies can be deployed to broaden participation as a means of... more
Chapter 6 examines an array of strategic options provided by digital tools, including broadcasting, analytics, convening, and distributed organizing. Such digital strategies can be deployed to broaden participation as a means of generating more inclusive activism and to deepen participation to intensify supporter engagement. Leveraging digital tools and shifting from staff-led to supporter-led activism can help TNGOs become more authentic, representative, and legitimate. But despite these opportunities, features of the legacy architecture make it difficult for TNGOs to invest in new technologies or accord them a major role in shaping programmatic strategies and organizational structures. Moreover, “going digital” carries its own inherent risks. For example TNGOs must be careful to avoid overemphasizing superficial metrics or underappreciating the need to complement digital strategies with other resources and capabilities.
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Collaboration is a common strategy for improving TNGO impact and legitimacy. Chapter 10 examines different collaboration types, levels, and approaches, considers the benefits and obstacles to collaborations, and identifies various... more
Collaboration is a common strategy for improving TNGO impact and legitimacy. Chapter 10 examines different collaboration types, levels, and approaches, considers the benefits and obstacles to collaborations, and identifies various capacities required to collaborate strategically with a broad range of partners, including “unlike-minded” actors. In general, collaboration requires a greater focus on the external environment and leading without having top-down control. Success is largely driven by the attention given to the alignment of informal expectations, understandings, and behaviors. Cultural factors thus emerge as a common obstacle to collaboration effectiveness. Additional considerations include challenges related to competition, unequal partnerships, and credit-sharing for collective outcomes.
Research Interests: Legitimacy and Obstacle
Chapter 11 argues that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can be an important strategic tool for acquiring capabilities needed to improve organizational effectiveness, relevance, and competitiveness. However, typically M&As within the sector... more
Chapter 11 argues that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can be an important strategic tool for acquiring capabilities needed to improve organizational effectiveness, relevance, and competitiveness. However, typically M&As within the sector are rare and often reactive in nature. They usually involve the joining together of a smaller, financially stressed organization with a larger, healthier TNGO looking to expand. Much less common are more proactive M&A efforts where both partners come together from positions of strength. M&As appear to be underutilized as a strategic tool to increase scale and impact due to a variety of normative and institutional barriers. These include legal structures that disincentivize or prevent takeovers, cultures of uniqueness among TNGOs and their supporters, and the lack of M&A matchmakers and resources for competently exploring and executing the M&A process.
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Chapter 8 discusses how governance reforms have been designed to improve legitimacy and alleviate structural inequalities among TNGO (con)federation members. TNGO governance reforms may involve centralization, decentralization, global... more
Chapter 8 discusses how governance reforms have been designed to improve legitimacy and alleviate structural inequalities among TNGO (con)federation members. TNGO governance reforms may involve centralization, decentralization, global restructuring, adding new governance bodies, and experimenting with digitally enabled global fora, although each type of governance reform carries risks and trade-offs. Specific considerations include structural inequalities, dual citizenship, board composition, roles, culture, power centers, and resources. Appropriate governance reforms may be able to address long-standing disparities, but their results remain uncertain. Additionally, organizational agility and transaction costs remain concerns, and long-established norms and patterns of learned behavior remain powerful inhibitors of successful change.
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Geopolitical shifts, increasing demands for accountability, and growing competition have been driving the need for change within the transnational nongovernmental organization (TNGO) sector. Additionally, TNGOs have been embracing more... more
Geopolitical shifts, increasing demands for accountability, and growing competition have been driving the need for change within the transnational nongovernmental organization (TNGO) sector. Additionally, TNGOs have been embracing more transformative strategies aimed at the root causes, not just the symptoms, of societal problems. As the world has changed and TNGOs’ ambitions have expanded, the roles of TNGOs have begun to shift and their work has become more complex. To remain effective, legitimate, and relevant in the future necessitates organizational changes and investments in new capabilities. However, many organizations have been slow to adapt. As a result, for many TNGOs’ the rhetoric of sustainable impact and transformative change has far outpaced the reality of their limited abilities to deliver on their promises. This book frankly explores why this gap between rhetoric and reality exists and what TNGOs can do individually and collectively to close it. In short, TNGOs need ...
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Transnational human rights mobilization targeting Kenya and Uganda during the 1970s and 1980s empowered domestic allies and delegitimized authoritarian regimes. This mobilization effectively challenged repressive regimes and created the... more
Transnational human rights mobilization targeting Kenya and Uganda during the 1970s and 1980s empowered domestic allies and delegitimized authoritarian regimes. This mobilization effectively challenged repressive regimes and created the basis for fundamental regime change in Uganda and significant political reforms in Kenya. But challenging authoritarian rule is only the beginning of a process aimed at creating sustainable democratic institutions. As the domestic struggle for democratic reforms progresses, the effects of transnational activism change. Targeted governments adapt quickly to the tastes of international human rights groups and devise strategies of deception and counter-mobilization. While previous strategies of conventional, state-led repression were not entirely dropped, new and more subtle efforts of harassment and threats take a prominent place. This chapter also shows how and why transnational mobilization beyond the initiation of regime change has more ambiguous and often negative effects on the political opposition.
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Transnational non-governmental organizations (TNGOs) 2 in general, and advocacy groups in particular, have gained considerable visibility and influence in global affairs. Since its creation in 1961, Amnesty International has become an... more
Transnational non-governmental organizations (TNGOs) 2 in general, and advocacy groups in particular, have gained considerable visibility and influence in global affairs. Since its creation in 1961, Amnesty International has become an authority on human rights issues around
How does transnational advocacy change in the digital era? In Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era: Thinking Global, Acting Local, Nina Hall argues that a new type of digitial advocacy groups has shifted its focus away from an... more
How does transnational advocacy change in the digital era? In Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era: Thinking Global, Acting Local, Nina Hall argues that a new type of digitial advocacy groups has shifted its focus away from an international campaign focus to domestic politics and have abandoned the staff-driven and single issue model for a membership-focused approach to campaign topic selection and strategizing. The book is based on an ethnographic study of the Online Progressive Engagement Network (OPEN) and additional analysis of similar digitally native groups. It charts their emergence and evolution, critically evaluates their strategic portfolio, and explores their contributions to domestic policy changes on climate, refugees, indigenous rights, and global trade. The book reminds scholars of transnational advocacy that new forms of activism regularly challenge the dominance of traditional groups established well before the internet age.
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The results of transnational activism directed at Kenya and Uganda challenge prevailing scholarly views of democratization and external human rights mobilization. Transnational activism plays a more prominent and effective role in... more
The results of transnational activism directed at Kenya and Uganda challenge prevailing scholarly views of democratization and external human rights mobilization. Transnational activism plays a more prominent and effective role in challenging authoritarian rule than in building sustainable democratic change after the fall of a repressive regime. In challenging authoritarianism, transnational mobilization succeeds in drawing attention to the situation, forcing the government to react with denial or concessions, pressuring donor governments to address the situation, and protecting domestic activists. Beyond initiating regime change, transnational mobilization plays a diminishing role and has more ambiguous effects on democratization.
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ABSTRACT
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International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused... more
International relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused on elite networks across NGOs, states, and international organizations. This article considers how digital technologies generate new types of networked power between NGOs and their members. Digital tools allow for fast feedback from supporters, rapid surges in mobilization, and more decentralized campaigns. Importantly, in the digital era, NGOs must decide not only which digital platforms to use, but also whether to devolve decision-making to their supporters. Two questions arise: First, do NGO staff or supporters primarily define and produce advocacy content? Second, is the goal of digital activism to broaden or intensify participation? Answers to these questions generate four digital strategies: proselytizing, testing, conversing, and facilitating....
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Brian Atwood, chair of the OECD-DAC and director of US Agency for International Development (USAID), writes [4]that in recent years, rights-based approaches (RBA) to development are overcoming divisions between human rights,... more
Brian Atwood, chair of the OECD-DAC and director of US Agency for International Development (USAID), writes [4]that in recent years, rights-based approaches (RBA) to development are overcoming divisions between human rights, democratization, and development. Like other proponents of this approach, Atwood hopes that the RBA will make governments more accountable, reduce discrimination, and help bring local communities and civil society together to claim their rights.
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Is effective global health governance possible? Jeremy Youde's introduction addressing the globalisation of health issues raises important questions about the international community and its abilit...
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A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to... more
A combination of computer-aided qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS) and latent class analysis (LCA) can substantially augment the qualitative analysis of textual data sources used in third-sector studies. This article explains how to employ both techniques iteratively to capture often implicit ideas and meaning-making by third-sector leaders, donors, and other stakeholders. CAQDAS facilitates the coding, organization, and quantification of qualitative data, effectively creating parallel qualitative and quantitative data structures. LCA facilities the discovery of latent concepts, document classification, and the identification of exemplary qualitative evidence to aid interpretation. For third-sector research, CAQDAS and LCA are particularly promising because diverse stakeholders usually do not share homogenous views about core issues such as organizational effectiveness, collaboration, impact measurement, or philanthropic approaches, for example. The procedure explained here provides a rigorous method for discovering and understanding diversity in perspectives and is especially useful in medium-n research settings common to third-sector scholarship.
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Three perspectives on the future of transnational advocacy, and how organizations can adapt to the challenges of 21st-century campaigning.