Ngo Legitimacy: Four Models

Thrandardottir, Erla

doi:10.1080/00344893.2015.1023102

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…It has become evident that there is a pressing need for NGOs to raise their standards of accountability and to address perceptions that they are unaccountable (Schmitz et al 2012;Thrandardottir 2015). Accountability issues are now high on the NGO policy agenda, particularly given that major donors attach more importance than ever before to transparency and evidence of 'value for money.'…”

Section: Club Theory Constructivism and Measures Of Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Regulation of International NGOS: Assessing the Effectiveness of the INGO Accountability Charter

Crack

2017

Voluntas

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The INGO Accountability Charter is the only global, cross-sectoral regulatory initiative for international NGOs. This is the first independent study of perceptions of its effectiveness, based upon 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews with key individuals from 11 leading international NGOs. Firstly, it analyzes interviewees' beliefs about the motivations of NGOs in joining the Charter. The findings contribute to the scholarly debate about the key drivers for voluntary regulation between 'club theorists' and 'constructivists' by demonstrating that NGO behavior in this regard is both self-interested and norm-guided. Secondly, it investigates the extent to which the interviewees believe that the Charter has been effective in enhancing the accountability of its members. Their responses further underline the applicability of club theory and constructivist explanations of NGO behavior, and lead to several policy recommendations about the future direction of Charter.Résumé La Charte des responsabilités des organisations non gouvernementales internationales (ONGI) est la seule initiative réglementaire intersectorielle mondiale en vigueur pour les ONG internationales. La présente étude des perceptions de son rendement est la première évaluation indépendante du genre. Elle se fonde sur 26 interviews détaillées semi-structurées menées auprès de membres clés de 11 ONG internationales d'importance. Elle analyse en premier lieu les raisons qui, selon les membres interrogés, incitent les ONG à s'inscrire à la Charte. Les résultats contribuent au débat qu'ont les chercheurs, à la fois «théoriciens de club» et «tenants du constructivisme», sur les éléments clés de la réglementation bénévole en démontrant que le comportement des ONG à cet égard est principalement influencé Resumen La Carta de Responsabilidad de las INGO es la única iniciativa global transectorial reguladora para las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales (NGO, por sus siglas en inglés) internacionales. É ste es el primer estudio independiente de percepciones sobre su efectividad, basado en 26 entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad con individuos claves de 11 NGO internacionales destacadas. En primer lugar, analiza las creencias de los entrevistados sobre las motivaciones de las NGO para incorporarse a la Carta. Los hallazgos contribuyen al debate erudito sobre los impulsores claves de la regulación voluntaria entre 'teóricos de club' y 'constructivistas' demostrando que el comportamiento de las NGO en este sentido se guía fundamentalmente por las normas. En segundo lugar, investiga en qué medida creen los entrevistados que la Carta ha sido efectiva para mejorar la responsabilidad de sus miembros. Sus respuestas subrayan también la aplicabilidad de las explicaciones constructivistas del comportamiento de las NGO, y llevan a varias recomendaciones políticas sobre la futura dirección de la Carta. Estas recomendaciones incluyen elevar el perfil de la Carta entre las partes interesadas y ampliar las oportunidades para el aprendizaje entre iguales.

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Section: Club Theory Constructivism and Measures Of Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Regulation of International NGOS: Assessing the Effectiveness of the INGO Accountability Charter

Crack

2017

Voluntas

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“…To date, academic interest in INGO or organisational legitimacy has generated a burgeoning but highly diffuse literature from scholars of international relations (Clark 2007;Collingwood and Logister 2005;Thrandardottir 2015), public policy and advocacy (Brown 2008;Brown et al 2013), anthropology (Lister 2003), development studies (Atack 1998), international law (Charnovitz 2006;Maragia 2002), organisational theory (Suchman 1995), political geography (Bryant 2005), and history (Davies 2012). Although these bodies of literature have made theoretical and empirical advances in understanding how INGOs are legitimated, this article explores how they have generally failed to speak to one another, thus reproducing a diverse set of ontological standpoints and approaches to understand the sources of, challenges to, and solutions for INGO legitimacy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Contemporary Challenges to INGO Legitimacy: Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Perspectives

et al. 2016

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In recent years, INGO legitimacy has been subject to growing scrutiny from analysts and practitioners alike. Critics have highlighted a backlash against INGOs in the Global South, a growing mismatch between INGO capacities and contemporary global challenges, and diminishing support for norms such as democracy and human rights that underpin INGOs' work. Although these problems have attracted significant attention within the academic literature, this article argues that existing explorations of INGO legitimacy have broadly conformed either to a top-down approach focused on global norms and institutions or a bottom-up approach focused on the local dynamics surrounding states and populations in the Global South. We suggest that this divide is unhelpful for understanding the current predicament and propose a new approach, which pays closer attention to the interaction between bottom-up and top-down dimensions, and to historical context. This new approach can provide important insights into current debates about the future roles and internal structures of INGOs.Résumé La légitimité des ONGI est de plus en plus remise en question par les analystes et praticiens. Les critiques ont fait la lumière sur les réactions hostiles que soulèvent les ONGI dans les pays du Sud, l'écart grandissant entre les capacités des ONGI et les défis mondiaux de l'heure et le respect de moins en moins grand des normes sous-jacentes au travail des ONGI, dont la démocratie et les droits de l'homme. Même si ces problèmes ont été largement traités dans la documentation spécialisée, cet article avance que les recherches existantes sur la légitimité des Resumen En años recientes, la legitimidad de las organizaciones no gubernamentales internacionales (INGO, por sus siglas en inglés) ha estado sujeta a un creciente escrutinio de analistas y profesionales. Los críticos han destacado una reacción violenta contra las INGO en el Hemisferio Sur, un creciente desequilibrio entre las capacidades de las INGO y los desafíos mundiales contemporáneos, y un apoyo decreciente de las normas, tales como la democracia y los derechos humanos que apoyan la labor de las INGO. Aunque estos problemas han atraído una importante atención dentro del material académico publicado, el presente artículo argumenta que las exploraciones existentes de la legitimidad de las INGO se han ajustado ampliamente a un enfoque de arriba a abajo centrado en las normas e instituciones mundiales o en un enfoque de abajo a arriba centrado en la dinámica social que rodea a los estados y poblaciones en el Hemisferio Sur. Sugerimos que esta división no ayuda a la comprensión del dilema actual y proponemos un nuevo enfoque, que presta una más estrecha atención a la interacción entre las dimensiones de abajo a arriba y de arriba a abajo, y al contexto histórico. Este nuevo enfoque puede proporcionar importantes perspectivas en los debates actuales sobre los futuros papeles y estructuras internas de las INGO. Voluntas (2016Voluntas ( ) 27:2764Voluntas ( -2786Voluntas ( 2765 123

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“…The literature shares our view that INGOs have significant de facto power in the international system, whether as apolitical functional entities or as (semi-) political advocates for disempowered people (Thrandardottir, 2015). Beetham's theory opens up space to consider the effects of the gap between their de facto power derived from sociological legitimacy and the legal validity that comes with de jure recognition.…”

Section: The Ingo Legitimacy Gap: Beetham and The Importance Of Legalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the legitimacy gap: a proposal for the international legal recognition of INGOs

Thrandardottir

Keating

2017

Int Polit

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In this paper we argue that there is a gap between the de facto and de jure legitimacy of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) that requires more consideration from scholars who study their role in the international system. The gradual acceptance of INGOs as de facto legitimate actors can be seen in the long-term expansion of their role in international norm deliberation. Despite this development, most INGOs still lack international legal recognition, and thus de jure legitimacy. We argue that this gap between de facto and de jure legitimacy creates problems for both INGOs and members of international society. In seeking to address this disjunction, we highlight the limits of the current literature in understanding legitimacy as primarily sociological phenomena through an examination of the accountability agenda. We then propose a template for INGO legal recognition based on the principles that underpin the regulation of charities in English law as a first step in a gradualist argument for the institution of their international de jure legitimacy.

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Ngo Legitimacy: Four Models

Cited by 21 publications

References 56 publications

The Regulation of International NGOS: Assessing the Effectiveness of the INGO Accountability Charter

The Regulation of International NGOS: Assessing the Effectiveness of the INGO Accountability Charter

Understanding Contemporary Challenges to INGO Legitimacy: Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Perspectives

Bridging the legitimacy gap: a proposal for the international legal recognition of INGOs

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