NGOs (Nongovernmental Organizations)

The debate over the nature and future of the United Nations began before its inception in 1945, and is likely to continue far into its second half-century. The purpose of this collection is to examine something generally ignored in the debate, even in the professional literature: what the United Nations actually does. The volume consists of original, authoritative, critical analyses of a sampling of key UN activities.

Private Organisation in Global Politics is a groundbreaking study which brings together a broad range of case-studies to examine the role and character of private organisations in the process of political globalization. Focusing on areas such as human rights organisations, the international women's movement and the combating of disease, the panel of expert contributors investigate the function of these in relation to governance in the globalizing world.

Since the end of the Cold War, a virtual army of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from the United States, Britain, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe have flocked to Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. These NGOs are working on such diverse tasks as helping to establish competitive political parties, elections, and independent media, as well as trying to reduce ethnic conflict. This important book is among the few efforts to assess the impact of these international efforts to build democratic institutions. The case studies presented here provide a portrait of the mechanisms by which ideas commonly associated with democratic states have evolved in formerly communist states, revealing conditions that help as well as hurt the process.

The burgeoning sector of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Latin America--funded by Northern donors--is both catalyzing and responding to change as states, market, and civil society realign in an age of information technology and globalization. The political economic perspective of this book clarifies the emerging role of Latin America's NGOs in the global community. After introducing the expanding role of NGOs in the international community at large, the book explores the history of NGOs in Latin America. It then uses case studies to examine the economics and politics of NGOs vis-a-vis information, partnerships, opportunism, entrepreneurship, and compromise with donors.

Since the end of the Cold War, increasing numbers of people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, and systematic violations of human rights. Whereas refugees crossing national borders benefit from an established system of international protection and assistance, those who are displaced internally suffer from an absence of legal or institutional bases for their protection and assistance from the international community. This book analyzes the causes and consequences of displacement, including its devastating impact both within and beyond the borders of affected countries. It sets forth strategies for preventing displacement, a special legal framework tailored to the needs of the displaced, more effective institutional arrangements at the national, regional, and international levels, and increased capacities to address the protection, human rights, and reintegration and development needs of the displaced.

Grassroots organizations have become a significant global force and an increasingly powerful political factor in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fill a compelling need left as a void by governments either corrupt, unwilling, or unable to act effectively. Groups form, motivated by grinding poverty, environmental ruin, or outrageous exploitation. Fisher offers a comprehensive and insightful account of a number of such movements and explores the significance of the NGOs in the overall development process. Her analysis is particularly valuable because of its inclusiveness and the integration it gives to the worldwide phenomenon of grassroots efforts.

Traditionally in International Relations, power and authority were considered to rest with states. But recently, in the light of changes associated with globalisation, this has come under scrutiny both empirically and theoretically. This book analyses the continuing but changing role of states in the international arena, and their relationships with a wide range of non-state actors, which possess increasingly salient capabilities to structure global politics and economics.