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From tsunami relief in East Asia to humanitarian aid in the AIDS-ridden countries of Africa to the fight against digging for oil in Alaska to peace protests and disarmament activism in the Middle East, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have emerged as an international actor on the world stage. NGOs are increasing in their number, scope of activity, and importance. In 1900 there were 69 NGOs. Now there are more than 2,000 with UN consultative status and thousands of others beyond that. Each of these NGOs represents an organized effort by private citizens and voluntary groups acting across national boundaries to influence a particular area of international relations. These organizations are diverse in their activities, strategies, and membership. But despite their diversity, all NGOs have as a common goal the desire to influence national governments and international arenas of diplomacy. The term nongovernmental organization came into currency in 1945 because of the United Nations’ need to differentiate in its Charter between participation rights for intergovernmental specialized agencies (often referred to as IGOs) and those for international private organizations. At the United Nations, virtually all types of private bodies can be recognized as NGOs (thus given consultative status). They only have to be independent from government control, not seeking to challenge governments either as a political party or by a narrow focus on human rights, not for profit, and noncriminal. The structures of NGOs vary considerably. They can be global hierarchies, with either a relatively strong central authority or a more loose federal arrangement. Alternatively, they may be based in a single country and operate transnationally. With the improvement in communications, more locally based groups, referred to as grassroot organizations or community-based organizations, have become active at the national and even the global level. Increasingly this occurs through the formation of coalitions. There are international umbrella NGOs (or NGO networks), providing an institutional structure for different NGOs that do not share a common identity. While it is difficult to measure the impact of NGOs, there is evidence that NGOs are gaining recognition as legitimate actors and are playing an increased role in the policy process. NGOs have been effective in raising awareness about certain issues and, in many cases, bringing those issues to the top of the political agenda. Through advances in communication and transportation, the power of ideas and information has been brought to life by NGOs. In this sense, NGOs are often most effective in their ability to shame countries, governments, and international organizations into action. At the same time, NGOs can prove to be vital sources for national or international governing bodies that need to access specialized information. Use the Web sites below to find an NGO that seems particularly interesting to you. Learn about the organization’s mission, its founding, its structure, its membership, the scope of its activities, and its overall success–or lack thereof. Prepare a 5-minute class presentation in which you discuss your NGO, showing your peers the NGO’s Web site and demonstrating your NGO’s relevance to global politics. http://www.ngocongo.org/index2.html http://governance.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?ContentID=1902 http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/p.willetts/NGOS/NGO-HOME.HTM http://www.politicalresources.net/int2.htm http://www.un.org/issues/ngo/ngoindex.asp www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/analysis/ana100.htm |