Between a Rock and a Hard Place: International NGOs and the Dual Pressures of Donors and Host Governments

Donors and targets:
institutional constraints
limit NGOs.
INGOs
NGO regulations
Civil society

Andrew Heiss and Judith G. Kelley, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: International NGOs and the Dual Pressures of Donors and Host Governments,” Journal of Politics 79, no. 2 (April 2017): 732–41, doi: 10.1086/691218.

Authors
Affiliation

Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

Judith G. Kelley

Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

Published

January 2017

Doi

Abstract

How do the preferences and behavior of both donor organizations and host countries affect the strategies, activities, and effectiveness of international NGOs (INGOs)? Recent books by Sarah Bush, Jessica Teets, and Amanda Murdie bring unique ideas and empirical evidence to illustrate different parts of this question. To discuss the arguments in each book, as well as explore incidental ties between the three, we suggest a simple framework for organizing and understanding the dual institutional constraints on INGOs. In this essay, we use this framework to identify how each book addresses these influences on INGOs and how, in some cases, INGOs can reverse the direction of influence.

Figure

Figure 2: The dual environmental constraints confronting INGOs

Figure 2: The dual environmental constraints confronting INGOs

Books reviewed

  • Sarah Sunn Bush, The Taming of Democracy Assistance: Why Democracy Promotion Does Not Confront Dictators (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015), doi: 10.1017/cbo9781107706934.
  • Jessica C. Teets, Civil Society under Authoritarianism: The China Model (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), doi: 10.1017/cbo9781139839396.
  • Amanda Murdie, Help or Harm: The Human Security Effects of International NGOs (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2014), doi: 10.2307/j.ctvqsdpq8.

Citation

 Add to Zotero

@article{HeissKelley:2017,
    Author = {Andrew Heiss and Judith G. Kelley},
    Doi = {10.1086/691218},
    Journal = {Journal of Politics},
    Month = {4},
    Number = {2},
    Pages = {732--41},
    Title = {Between a Rock and a Hard Place: International {NGOs} and the Dual Pressures of Donors and Host Governments},
    Volume = {79},
    Year = {2017}}