Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
their efforts. Participatory approaches to development were also increas-
ingly critical of expert-led projects; Northern NGOs were sought to build
new partnerships with indigenous Southern NGOs to manage projects
at the grassroots. These fundamental changes to civil society have
transformed the political landscape of development. International fund-
ing has been increasingly channelled towards the big international
NGOs (BINGOs), a situation that undermines informal organizations
and social movements. Nelson (2006) notes that many Northern NGOs
do not work with smaller grassroots organizations, and she argues that
the concentration of funds among larger organizations creates unfair
competition.
As a result of their growing power base, BINGOS have increasingly
been accused of tokenism, bureaucracy, non-democracy and wasting
funds on staff costs and expenses. Furthermore, the role of Northern
NGOs as 'ambassadors' and Southern NGOs as the 'representatives of
the poor' has increasingly been problematized (Mercer, 2002).
Assumptions that indigenous NGOs always represent the interests of
the poor are contentious as many organizations are staffed by local
elites who bring with them their own agendas and political biases
(McIlwaine, 2007). As such, NGOs are criticized for failing to address
structural issues underlying poverty and inequality in both local and
international arenas (Mohan, 2002). Recent partnerships between
BINGOs and MNCs, whether in coffee or clothing, have raised further
questions over their independence, impartiality and autonomy.
Despite these misgivings, the reality is that NGOs are now key
agents in a global development business. Although some critics have
labelled them as the 'human face' of neoliberalism, BINGOs like
Oxfam have the capacity to influence international agendas, raise
public awareness of injustice and human rights abuses, and campaign
against damaging state and corporate legislation. By acting as cata-
lysts for gender equality or anti-slavery, they have brought about
transformations in global policy by mobilizing large numbers of people
in both the North and South. Although civil society has provided new
spaces for social mobilization and resistance, the extent to which it
has the capacity significantly to transform the lives of the majority of
people in the global South is questionable. Although NGOs have
transformed development agendas in the twenty-first century, their
overall legacy in grassroots participation and empowerment remains
to be seen.
229
