Do members make a difference? A study of Transnational Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

<jats:p>Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play an active role in European and global governance, and many commentators see them as a link that connects the international level with citizens. But not all CSOs active at the international level do have a substantial number of members. The question we investigate in this article is to what extent membership distinguishes these CSOs from other transnational actors. To what extent do member and non-member CSOs differ in their roles and activities? Is it plausible to argue, as it quite often happens, that CSOs with members are more legitimate than others? On the basis of a survey of 60 exemplary CSOs we find that membership CSOs neither differ substantially from non-member CSOs in their political behavior, nor do they differ in important aspects of legitimacy, such as transparency or efforts to include beneficiaries.</jats:p>

Business insiders and environmental outsiders? Advocacy strategies in international climate change negotiations

“…The regression results thus do not offer support for my expectation that an individual membership results in more outside advocacy. This is in line with recent research that finds only slight variation in the behaviour of organisations with different types of members (Kotzian and Steffek, 2013). The regression analysis thus supports the argument that tactical specialisation results from differences in access, rather than from differences in how the goals of influencing policy and securing organisational survival are balanced.…”