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20 century 'zuŋ u 'not for profit' empires
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The Conversation (April 2017)
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Civil society conflict: The negative impact of International NGOs on grassroots and
social movements

When considering the optimal way to mitigate poverty in the Global South, proposed
solutions often involve international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). INGOs
can be based in various countries, but an abundance of these are based in the Global

North. These organizations tend to focus on implementing short-term, tangible projects.
It is generally assumed in the Global North that these compassionate organizations will

enter communities, carry out development programs, and then leave having addressed
poverty; and it is for this reason that numerous donors in the Global North pour their

money into INGOs. Moreover, INGOs often collaborate with existing local grassroots or
social movements. According to journalist Augusta Dwyer, these movements are "made
up of impoverished people who have joined together to struggle for some concrete goal."

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On the flipside, there is a risk that INGO involvement will dilute local demands in order to

fit international agendas. Alternatively, INGOs might focus on one specific objective,
while ignoring others that may be equally important for the movement's cause. I argue

that relationships between INGOs and movements by and for impoverished communities
in the Global South are often structurally harmful, as they promote external interests, are
too short-sighted, and often disempower the poor.

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For instance, INGOs are often voluntary by nature and have no source of income other

than donor funding. Accordingly, INGOs have a certain level of accountability to these
external donors. In addition, these donors typically expect a measurable result from the

INGO if they are to continue donating to the organization. This dynamic may lead to
NGOs implementing the agenda of their donor's, rather than necessarily creating lasting
and equal relationships within the community. As scholar J-E Noh writes, INGOs are all-

too frequently losing their charitable, volunteer-oriented basis and instead consist
primarily of "donor-driven programs and business-like changes". Since many of the

donors to these INGOs come from the Global North, this situation may constitute a new,
growing dependency on the Global North. This dependency can be harmful to the

grassroots movements, as it frequently results in more "Western-style,"

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There are widespread fears that INGOs are increasingly taking on a corporate character,
due to the requirements of funding. Specifically, concerned individuals fear that