Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations
Will Brehm2019, Routledge eBooks
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
AI
AI
This chapter explores the role of NGOs in peace and disarmament efforts, particularly post-World War II. It evaluates the effectiveness of these organizations in achieving concrete policy changes and shifting societal attitudes towards peace. The analysis highlights the transition of NGO strategies from grassroots mobilization to elite lobbying and norm advocacy, especially following the end of the Cold War, which opened new opportunities for international collaboration and legal norm creation without direct superpower involvement.
Related papers
The Control Arms Campaign: A Case Study for NGO Impact on International Relations After the Cold War
Research in the field of international agreements on small arms and light weapons (hereafter SALW) has been focused mainly on specific aspects of the problem viewed from an international relations perspective, whereas the social movement dimension of the topic has been largely underresearched. Moreover, this research has been almost exclusively done by insiders, either activists or academics, closely connected to the NGO sector. Although they are arguably experts in the issue, this perspective may be biased towards overemphasizing the NGO role in these processes. On another front, most of works do not cover the most recent events.2 This paper updates previous analysis, taking into account the events of 2006, while also contributing original empirical research from an outside perspective.
Changing the World. Explaining successes and failures of international campaigns by NGOs in the field of human security
2012
The book examines the global institutional responses to the peace movement demands after the Cold War. The primary analysis revolves around several international campaigns carried out by coalitions of NGOs and other civil society organizations in the field of human security. Each empirical chapter examines the process towards the signature of a treaty largely from the activists’ perspective intertwined with diplomats and UN officials' views. The identification of pathways and determinants of successes and failures in these processes forms the central part of the analysis. The cases of study are the Coalition to Stop the Use and Recruitment of Child Soldiers, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the International Action Network against the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the Coalition to stop Cluster Munitions. The strategic and organizational levels of these networks are examined through their roles in each international negotiation context, such as the Conference of Disarmament, the Convention of Certain Weapons of the UN Program of Action of Small Arms or the Oslo Process on Cluster Munitions.
Human Security and Disarmament Treaties: the role of international campaigns
Global Policy, 2014
Traditionally, security issues were confined within the realm of states. However, a broad understanding of security has given civil society a say on these issues. Recent campaigns have managed to draw attention to the humanitarian consequences of specific weapons, such as landmines, cluster munitions and small arms. Forming part of a new peace movement, these campaigns are more sophisticated, use a variety of strategies and resources, focus on concrete security issues, have a lower profile and are arguably more successful than their predecessors. In this article, some of the factors leading to success and failure in a number of disarmament initiatives are presented, as well as the interactions between campaigns and government policy makers, and the international dynamics of negotiations on treaties – in other words, the ‘rules of the game’. Also, current debates regarding learning processes within the campaigns and the democratic features of the processes under study are discussed. This article includes several recommendations aimed at helping civil-society activists increase their influence when negotiating humanitarian security treaties. Policy Implications: •The set of rules and procedures of the process determine the success of the campaigns. Effective processes should have flexible rules allowing decision-making by majority voting and participatory procedures that include the activists as partners. This would strengthen partnerships with like-minded states. •Coalitions deal with conflictive interests among the actors, and between larger professionalised organisations (who have large resources) and those smaller and more locally based ones (who do not). Coalitions should find a way to satisfy both demands: effective coordination and decentralised participation. •Individuals have the capacity to affect change at various levels. Actors in these processes should not be understood as unitary entities, but comprising individuals who can exert high levels of agency. •Research has focused on collaboration among NGOs from different sectors inside a single coalition, and the potential for synergies among different networks on interrelated topics remains underresearched. Strategies should be designed to facilitate cooperation among networks with related objectives.
'Public vs. Private Power: NGOs and International Security'
This chapter outlines and analyzes NGOs‘ growing involvement in the international security arena since the end of the Cold War. It seeks to explain why and how they have been ascribed and taken on a range of new roles under the rubric of ‗international security‘ including public diplomacy, track two negotiations, community reconciliation, post conflict peacebuilding and peace advocacy. We ask what have been the key factors behind this trend, what do we know about the effectiveness of NGOs in this policy arena, and what are the wider lessons and implications for those seeking to promote international security? After examining notions of NGO comparative advantage in the area of peacebuilding and providing a taxonomy of roles, we assesses an emerging critique of NGOs which claims that they have been co-opted into a hegemonic ‗liberal peacebuilding‘ project, and have inadvertently contributed to the marketization, privatization and de-politicization of peacebuilding. Finally the chapter concludes by arguing that NGOs‘ peacebuilding roles are heavily circumscribed by the complex processes of legitimation that exist in conflict-affected regions. These fluctuating processes may present fleeting opportunities for NGOs to support a broader shift towards peace. Acknowledging this contingent nature of peacebuilding highlights the need for policymakers and analysts to lower their expectations about the potential for NGOs to generate peace and to develop a better understanding of the processes of legitimation and de-legitimation that surround NGO peacebuilding efforts.
The Role of Middle Power-NGO Coalitions in Global Policy: The Case of the Cluster Munitions Ban
2010
Medium-sized wealthy states-middle powers-and global civil society networks are increasingly joining forces to influence the global policy agenda on issues of international law, justice, humanitarianism and development. These middle power-NGO coalitions use the comparative advantages of both state and nonstate actors in synergistic partnerships. States represent the coalitions' interests in international negotiations and conferences, provide donor funding and offer diplomatic support. For their part, NGOs gather on-the-ground research, provide technical expertise, lobby governments, mobilise public opinion and generate media publicity. This article uses the case of the campaign to ban cluster munitions, culminating in the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, to examine the organisation, efforts and impact of such middle power-NGO coalitions.
NGOs: A ‘New Class’ in International Relations
Orbis, 2007
Nongovernmental organizations have attempted to take control of civil society, displacing traditional governing institutions. This serves the interests of the terrorists, warlords, and mafia dons, who benefit from weak central government, and hinders the West's ability to mobilize allies to participate in the war on terror. NGO leaders who are hostile to the nation-state itself seek to transform a voluntary system of participation in international organizations by sovereign member-states via a “power shift” to an unholy alliance of multinational corporations and NGOs. Since they do not possess the traditional sources of legitimacy enjoyed by nation-states, they seek to impose their will by financial or forceful means—for example, “sanctions” or “humanitarian intervention.” A new class of NGOs has thus emerged that is essentially opposed to the diplomatic, legal, and military measures required for dealing with civilizational conflict.
<i>Non-Governmental Organizations</i> (NGOS) — New World Actors of Contemporary International Relations
2022
The paper examines the status and influence of NGOs on international relations. It analyses major dilemmas regarding the position of NGOs. It examines their historical development, consultative status within the United Nations and possibilities of formal interaction with the UN Security Council. NGOs have had a noticeable impact on the development of international law, particularly in the areas of human rights and environmental law. They have influenced resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding the rights of women and the rights of children during conflicts. Lately, their growing influence has been characterized as problematic by some states. NGOs have been considered non-state actors. The author concludes that NGOs have developed some characteristics of legal subjectivity. The state is gradually losing its exclusivity in international relations. Without NGOs, international law and international politics would not be the same. Having in mind their growing role and influence, the author concludes that NGOs might be considered actors in the future of international relations.
THE DIPLOMATIC ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS IN PROMOTING PEACE
The end of the Cold War left a void in which a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have assumed the ‘duty’ of stabilising peace and security in states besieged with conflicts. The NGOs have not only assumed the responsibility of maintaining peace and security but have also become ‘humanitarian aid’ agencies. Civil War recidivism has affected those societies at risk, despite ceasefires between the antagonists implemented with conditions that stipulate no peace or no war. NGOs have become a conduit for providing a voice against orthodox problem solving and also promoting the economic, social and geo-political objectives of states. They are providing the micro level of politics of which the state is unable to provide through its institutions. The driving force behind the accomplishment of these objectives has been realised through the United Nations’ Article 71 of the UN charter which incorporates the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) committee regulations for consultation with non-governmental organisations. In Africa, the UN, in 2003, presented a plan to strengthen the education of peace by consulting local people’s organisations and working in partnership with AU and NGOs. In this regard, NGOs should support the goals and activities of the UN – the organisation that recognises them. This essay will first define NGOs as to limit the vast amount of organisations that are involved in achieving the UN’s objectives. Using the descriptive typology of Terje Tvedt and Peter Willets, this essay will analyse NGOs in brokering for peace. Although recognising that peace is a broader term with different terms of interpretation, this essay will look at the peace building by NGOs. This paper aims to provide the basic information about NGOs to enable an examination of how their framework substantiates them to benefit in information gathering that the UN and other governments find difficult. This analysis will further look at how this framework of plans enable the NGOs to have a role in public diplomatic communication, apart from the orthodox ways used by the diplomatic mechanisms of embassies. Finally, this examination will be partitioned into a further three parts looking at the economic, political and social dimensions of what impact the NGOs have on the dynamics of states and peace. Relevant case studies will further extenuate the arguments presented in the essay.
Martin Binder, "The Politicization of International Security Institutions: The UN Security Council and NGOs"
This paper examines the politicization of the United Nations Security Council (SC) and seeks to explore the causes and effects of this process. I will first demonstrate that the SC has expanded both its scope and authority after the end of the Cold War. With the SC becoming more powerful I then consider whether the Council has become the target of politicization and has met with criticism and resistance. I find that there is an on-going, observable process of politicization although the SC is significantly less contested than a number of other international organizations. Regarding the possible effects of politicization, the paper examines whether and to what extent the Security Council has adapted its institutional design. I find that the Council has—hesitantly— opened up to civil society actors, although interaction with NGOs is limited to an informal consultation process coupled with broad discretionary power of the SC’s Permanent Members. In the concluding part of the paper I briefly examine how this outcome might be best explained and offer some hypotheses for further research.
The Non-Aligned Movement and Nuclear Disarmament: Stance and Actions
University of Tehran, 2017
The emergence of nuclear weapons as a new actor in international relations has introduced a new area in the international security arena. Since the appearance of these weapons, there have been increasing efforts to limit and destroy them in order to achieve global peace in the framework of disarmament and centered around the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Along with the emergence of the non-proliferation system and the current trend, achieving nuclear disarmament has turned into an international demand, especially for the Non-Aligned Movement member states. The present study seeks to analyze the influence of the Non-Aligned Movement on disarmament in the framework of the mentioned Treaty. To this end, and based on the Neoliberal Institutionalism theory, this article studies the Non-Aligned Movement's stance toward nuclear disarmament in the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The study is written according to the descriptive-analytical method. The findings suggest that despite its inefficient influence prior to the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Non-Aligned Movement, as a major actor in international peace and security, has gained an influential position in the negotiations about the formation of the trends related to nuclear disarmament in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The NGO Game: Post-conflict Peacebuilding in the Balkans and Beyond, by Patrice C. McMahon
International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2018
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime: Key Intl Organisations
The aim of this paper was to evaluate the impact, role and involvement of international organisations on global governance and in particular nuclear governance. This impact is stunted through problems of sovereignty, state cooperation and the nature of an absence of actual existential authority. However the programmes offered by NGOs and the locality of civil society’s disillusionment with nuclear weapons projects a future with increasing civil involvement and nuclear disarmament. The involvement of the IAEA in ensuring state cooperation and preventing extensive proliferation makes it an invaluable institution in addition with its legal cornerstone, the NPT. Despite the positives, further institutions need to add to the international security regime as it falls significantly behind the established international regimes in other topic areas such as climate change. As Senator Dallaire stated at the keynote address of the GSI-sponsored New York conference in 2007 that “asking governments to cooperate on climate change whilst under the threat of nuclear annihilation is akin to asking children to resolve their differences while pointing loaded guns at each other’s temples”
Ngo's Roles in Humanitarian Interventions and Peace Support Operations
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasing the influence they are able to play on global politics. As far as they represent political values, interests, and demands that cut across the borders of the states. Furthermore, they participate in many trans-national and world-level actions and programs, and are recognized also by policy-makers as actors of the world political system, the reserved domain of the states. For this reason, it is quite safe to say that they have an impact on the transformation of the structure and processes of world politics. At the same time, it is safe not concealing that the NGOs effective actorness continues to depend on the access given to them by state governments and international organizations (IOs) to international institutions and common decision-making processes and actions. This chapter analyses the participation of NGOs in humanitarian intervention and peace operations. Knowledge about this area of action is of great importance to underst...
A View from the Top: International Politics, Norms and the Worldwide Growth of NGOs
International Studies Quarterly, 2006
This article provides a ''top-down'' explanation for the rapid growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the postwar period, focusing on two aspects of political globalization. First, I argue that international political opportunities in the form of funding and political access have expanded enormously in the postwar period and provided a structural environment highly conducive to NGO growth. Secondly, I present a norm-based argument and trace the rise of a pro-NGO norm in the 1980s and 1990s among donor states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), which has actively promoted the spread of NGOs to non-Western countries. The article ends with a brief discussion of the symbiotic relationship among NGOs, IGOs, and states promoting international cooperation. Author's note: Earlier versions of this article were presented at the 2002 annual meetings of the International Studies Association and the American Political Science Association. I am grateful to Jim Riker, John Boli, and the anonymous ISQ reviewers for their useful and insightful comments.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.