Countering Convergence: Agency and Diversity Among Guatemalan NGOs

Abstract

The proliferation of nongovernmental organizations across the developing world has sparked discussions of the “NGOization” of civil society and concern that NGOs have become increasingly uniform and internally homogenous. This article explores the evolution of NGOs in Guatemala since the 1960s and finds that NGOs historically and currently respond in diverse ways to external pressures—adjusting their strategies and actively attempting to shape their environment. Comparing two microcredit NGOs, it finds in addition that old and new models combine in unique organizational contexts in distinct ways. These two findings suggest that diversity is likely to persist among NGOs.

Development encounters in international development volunteerism in Guatemala: Quiet encroachments in global street politics

“…One overlooked effect of untrained actors, like volunteers and nonprofit workers, working together is they momentarily avoid the professionalization that occurs in social movements or nonprofits (Alvarez 1999;Mawdsley, Townsend, and Porter 2005;Andrews 2014;Beck 2014). Katz analyzed the effects of professionalization in NGOs and found that professionalization "compromises more radical agendas and blunts the power of opposition" (Katz 2005, 627).…”

When Worlds Collide: Bringing the Native/Indigenous Transnational Nonprofit Leader to the Conversation

“…Nonprofit sector research is currently characterized by a one-way conversation obscuring or ignoring the voices of native/indigenous leaders. This problem has been acknowledged in the field as nonprofit scholars comment on the general lack of native/indigenous voices, either local or international (sometimes referred to as grassroots voices), in the research produced (Beck, 2014;Pallas, Gethings, Harris, 2014). One argument posits burying occurs because of sector NGOization, professionalization, managerialism, etc.…”

“…One argument posits burying occurs because of sector NGOization, professionalization, managerialism, etc. (Alvarez, 1999;Beck, 2014;Chowdhury, 2011) describing the modern nonprofit management and leadership environment (Salamon, 2012). Defining native/indigenous broadly as individuals native to a particular country outside North America and Europe, an extensive search of the scholarship mirrored the concern of Beck (2014) and Pallas, Gethings, and Harris (2014).…”

“…Migration to seek betterment, however, is only part of the Guatemalan development story, which excludes internal nonprofit efforts. While the general history of the Guatemalan nonprofit sector stretches back to the late 1800s (Browning, Guerra, and Girón, 1998), peace expanded the influence and role of the nonprofit sector in Guatemala, particularly in terms of sustainable post-conflict redevelopment (Beck, 2014;Blum, 2001;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996). It has been estimated there were between 1,000 and 1,500 nonprofit organizations in operation when the peace accords were signed (Beck, 2014;Browning, 1993;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996;Sridhar, 2007) with known hostility by the wartime military government toward Indigenous organizations diminishing their contributions (Browning, Guerra, & Girón, 1998;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996).…”

“…While the general history of the Guatemalan nonprofit sector stretches back to the late 1800s (Browning, Guerra, and Girón, 1998), peace expanded the influence and role of the nonprofit sector in Guatemala, particularly in terms of sustainable post-conflict redevelopment (Beck, 2014;Blum, 2001;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996). It has been estimated there were between 1,000 and 1,500 nonprofit organizations in operation when the peace accords were signed (Beck, 2014;Browning, 1993;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996;Sridhar, 2007) with known hostility by the wartime military government toward Indigenous organizations diminishing their contributions (Browning, Guerra, & Girón, 1998;Palencia Prado & Holiday, 1996). Some estimates state there are now as many as 10,000 organizations operating in the country (Beck, 2011;Browning, 1993;Sridhar, 2007 understand the world, the outside world" whereas an indigenous pedagogy assures indigenous communities "there is something within their own culture, it will be something that we order their knowledge, that they will be more prepared, no?…”