The Role Of Ngos Under Authoritarian Political Systems (macmillan International Political Economy)

The Role qf NGOs because NGOs lack the necessary expertise to work effectively with the landless and the tendency of individuals participating in NGO projects to self select since they are more knowledgeable of project culture, active and willing to take risks. In other words, while the beneficiaries are undoubtedly poor, they are hardly the poorest. Arrossi et al's (1994) review of NGOs experience of small-scale credit schemes demonstrates very similar conclusions about the identity of project beneficiaries. The beneficiaries of the programmes described in the case studies unquestionably have an income, in one case at least between 80 per cent and 150 per cent of the minimum income level; thus, poor though these groups are, they are hardly the 'poorest of the poor'. Thus, Farrington and Bebbington (1993) conclude that where NGO projects did reach the poorest, this was achieved by benefits 'trickling down' to them, the antithesis of NGO claims. The improvements in economic status achieved in this way required targeting identifiable groups of 'poor' and generating benefits among this group; benefits to the poorest occur through stimulation of economic activity and new opportunities for them ( p. 98). Inevitably, questions must be asked about whose interests are advanced by NGOs' advocacy. It is at least possible that it is in the interests of those they serve directly rather than those who benefit indirectly. Before turning to this discussion, however, some comments on the role of communication in development are appropriate. As Elliott and Goulding (1974) note, most discussion of the role of communication in development stresses its critical role in questioning traditional values and advancing modem ones. Value-laden notions which emphasise the shift from ' ... static, agricultural, primitive, rigidly ascripitive societies to dynamic, industrialised, urbanised, rational, and socially-mobile nation states' 16 remain unexpressed. Understandably, therefore, developing country governments by and large adhere to Nkrumah stricture that the press (which is a means of communicating information) 'is an integral part of our society with which its purposes are in consonance' and 'we do not believe there are two sides to every question ... we are partisan' 17 -in effect, a direct statement that information and its communication must be managed or controlled. Authoritarian regimes seek greater control over the flow of information, not only because of their desire to maintain control over their populations which are increasingly unsettled because of the changes being introduced into their social environment but also REFERENCES Under increasingly resource-constrained conditions, both private and public donors are turning to NGOs in an attempt to achieve greater impact. This is based on the belief that NGOs can effectively reach the poorest of the poor and that their actions are in the interests of this group. The five case-studies in this book demonstrate that while this can take place, it need not necessarily be the case. NGOs, as intermediary organisations, frequently have their own agendas; where these coincide with the interests of affected groups, unquestionable benefits occur. The Philippine and South African case-studies illustrate cogently how elite-led projects resulted in substantial benefits for grassroots groups and their leaders. However, the Sri Lankan and Indonesian examples demonstrate, the poor need not benefit from NGOs' activities; instead, in at least one case, NGO activities have harmed the interests of the local community. The book underlines the importance of increased attention to NGOs' accountability both to their public and private donors and to the communities with which they work. In the absence of such horizontal accountability, NGOs are as subject to possible arrogant behaviour vis-a-vis poor communities and people as those bilateral and multilateral organisations which they criticise The Farm War of the early 1980s caused subsequent disruptions in world markets, conflicts among major governments and disagreements in international organizations. The Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, ostensibly devoted to the new issues of globalization, dragged on from 1986 to 1993 in an attempt to end farm-subsidy battles. Wolfe shows how and why battles over agricultural protectionism were largely resolved through the Round, demonstrating that the global economy is not self-regulating; it needs institutions if it is to be stable. The Green Box, a core provision of The Agreement on Agriculture, shows how states can decide that certain types of policies should be immune from international regulation by the new World Trade Organization, an elegant compromise between the imperatives of responding to global change and maintaining democratic accountability. Wolfe's analysis will be helpful for planners of the next set of farm trade talks, due to begin in 1999, while the annotated text of The Agreement on Agriculture will be especially useful in introducing students to the complexities of trade policy

The book discusses five examples of NGO action in four countries - Indonesia, Philippines, South Africa and Sri Lanka - with authoritarian regimes. It poses the question of whose interest was served by these activities, the beneficiary group or the NGOs and argues that where these coincided, identifiable benefits accrued to beneficiary groups. This underlines the importance of ensuring that NGOs are accountable to the communities with which they seek to work.

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Underlining the importance of increased attention to NGOs' accountability, five case studies demonstrate that NGOs, as intermediary organizations, often have their own agendas. The Philippine and South African case studies illustrate how elite-led projects resulted in substantial benefits for grassroots groups and their leaders. However, the Sri Lankan and Indonesian examples demonstrate that the poor don't always benefit from NGOs' activitiesin at least one case NGO activities have harmed the interests of the local community. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

List Of Tables And Figure -- Acknowledgements -- List Of Abbreviations -- Introduction: The Intersection Of Risk And Trade -- Science In The Regulation Of Risk : A Transatlantic Divide? -- Informal Trade Conflict -- Mad Cows And Transatlantic Trade Conflict -- Resolving Differences Over Stinky Cheese And Bothersome Beetles -- Formal Trade Conflict -- The Dispute Over Hormonal Cattle : The Lead Up To Ec-hormones -- Fearing Frankenfoods : Emergence Of Ec-biotech -- Disputing Chlorinated Chickens : The Politics Underpinning Ec-poultry -- Science And The Politics Of Transatlantic Trade Conflict -- Conclusions: Lessons For Trade Conflict -- Moving Forward -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Bibliography. David J. Hornsby, Senior Lecturer In International Relations, University Of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Includes Bibliographical References. Internationally the trade union movement is finding itself peripheralized by a series of mutually reinforcing processes - the ongoing world economic crisis; the uneven transition from an industrial to an information and service capitalism; the aggressive policies of neoliberalism; the collapse of communism and radical nationalism; the decline of the social-democratic or labour tradition - and by a globalization that undermines the nation-state to which union hopes have long been pinned. The editors argue that this crisis provides an opportunity for labour to recover or reinvent itself. They see this in terms of a labour response to the waves of energy coming from the new global social movements (women, ecology, human rights/democracy, and so on). Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-13 In Whose Interest? Authoritarian Social Organisation, NGO Advocacy Campaigns and the Poorest: an Exploration of Two Indonesian Examples....Pages 14-58 In Whose Interest? Democratic Community Building through Civics in South Africa: the Role of NGOs....Pages 59-111 In Whose Interest? Macro-economic Policy-making and Poverty Alleviation in Sri Lanka: Sustained NGO Advocacy in the 1980s and 1990s....Pages 112-184 In Whose Interest? Philippine NGO Responses to Increased Political Space....Pages 185-226 In Whose Interest?....Pages 227-243 Back Matter....Pages 244-274 Sri Lanka is hailed internationally for its high standards of education despite rather modest levels of economic growth. Much of this achievement has been underpinned by economic revenues generated by the labours of the plantation community whose own achievements in education fell well below the national norm. In recent years, however, educational participation among this community has increased. Why, and how? A day in the life of Vickneswari provides the starting-point for an analysis of educational progress among the Tamil plantation community. The authors examine various aspects of Japanese financial markets. This analysis is interspersed with the relevant institutional/historical background on Japanese financial markets necessary for the non-specialist. Principal chapters include: an institutional overview; a chapter on the comparative costs of capital (both internationally and among Japanese firms); causes and implications of the high degree of financial intermediation in Japan; and an invaluable analysis of the most recent trends in the Japanese/Asian financial markets This book examines the effect of post-Soviet transitions on current problem solving trends with regards to world capitalism. The fall of Soviet communism left liberal capitalism as the dominant blueprint from which to construct economic development policies. Using Central Europe as an example it is shown that the application of the Western liberal-capitalist model has not been without its difficulties. This book endeavours to place the changes to the global political economy, since 1989, in a theoretical and historical context