NGOs and Issue Framing: Synergistic Effects on Policy Change in Bangladesh

• In Event: Poster Session: Presidents and Executive Politics & Public Policy
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Public Policy

Abstract

Images of Bangladesh that have made international headlines include factory collapses that killed thousands of workers and implicated international corporations, terrorist attacks targeting local activists and international aid workers, and massive floods, displacing coastal populations. This selective coverage impacts how the world views one of the most densely populated country’s in the world, but it also impacts domestic policy and the focus of nongovernmental organization (NGO) service provision. Development NGOs have played an expanding role in service provision in Bangladesh specifically, and the global South more generally. They act as vital service providers, reaching populations otherwise unreachable by government institutions. This research investigates a subset of issues: workers’ rights, terrorism, and climate change. Through longitudinal analysis of sectoral aid data and aggregated news articles, along with in-depth interviews with 35 representatives of NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and the Bangladeshi government, this study examines how international discourse and awareness of high profile events impact the sectors NGOs choose to focus their resources in, and how they frame their agendas. It finds that key focusing events create windows of opportunity, leading to a synergistic effect between international and domestic priorities. In turn, NGOs use different framings to cater to these priorities and render their work eligible for support. Domestic government opposition for NGO projects is either overcome via international pressure, as in the case of workers’ rights, or legitimized, as seen in reaction to the 2015-2016 terrorist attacks. Alternatively, domestic and international priorities converge, as seen with the transformation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the increased international funding and domestic support for projects focused on climate change. Ultimately, this research explores how NGOs navigate political uncertainty, framing their projects in a variety of ways to attract funding from international donors and develop buy-in from local government officials.

Author

• Aeshna Badruzzaman, Northeastern University