Stay or exit: How do international nongovernmental organizations respond to institutional pressures under authoritarianism?

Abstract

International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are increasingly important players in global politics and development. However, they are undergoing significant adaptations as governments worldwide have instituted restrictions to regulate their activities. What explains the various ways in which they respond to these institutional pressures? In our study of INGO responses to a new restrictive law in China, we identify four strategic responses with varying levels of compliance: legal registration, provisional strategy, localization, and exit. The institutional pressures—strategic responses link is influenced by INGOs' adaptive capacity, which is in turn shaped by an organization's issue sensitivity, value‐add, government ties, and reputational authority. The integrated framework we develop for INGO strategic responses can shed light on state‐INGO relations in other countries, many of which are subject to increasingly stringent regulations and a closing political environment.

Noncompliance with the law as institutional maintenance at ultra‐religious schools

“…These similarities and variations among the schools correspond with studies revealing how external cross‐pressures and internal organizational sources pull organizational decisions in different directions (see Fransen et al, 2020; Kayaalp, 2012; Li & Farid, 2022; Perry‐Hazan & Birnhack, 2016; Srivastava, 2021). Most of the sources we analyzed (rabbis, school networks, educators' perceptions, and parents), as well as the Haredi sects' distinguishing features that we identified, are intertwined with ideological variations in the Haredi community.…”

Neither Withdrawal nor Resistance: Adapting to Increased Repression in China

“… 18. This discussion focuses on domestic grassroots NGOs. On adaptation by international NGOs, see Noakes and Teets (2020) and Li and Farid (2022). …”