Return of the State: Local & International Drivers of NGO Priorities, Bangladesh

• In Event: Civil Society and Social Movements in the Global South

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been considered part of a “good governance” paradigm of development since the 1990s. Some scholars argue that NGOs are non-democratic, private institutions that depoliticize development, while others maintain that such organizations strengthen or deepen democracy. Related to this debate, researchers have observed NGOs operating on or between two extremes: on one end, pursuing a “social mobilization” paradigm of development by tying service delivery to engagement with the political system, or on the other, participating only in service delivery-oriented programming. While NGOs in Bangladesh mirrored global trends throughout the 1990s by expanding the number and scope of programs, more recently NGO programs have increasingly emphasized service delivery over social mobilization. Through in-depth interviews with representatives of NGOs, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and governmental representatives, as well as archival research, this study examines the reasons behind this shift. Contrary to mainstream literature on the de-politicization of NGOs that emphasizes international influences on agenda setting, this research finds that the shift in focus of NGO programming is not solely due to international pressure. Instead, it argues that the government’s increasing regulation of international aid, and subsequent de-emphasis of politically oriented NGO activity, reflects the Bangladesh government’s strategic attempts to consolidate power as they accentuate international aid paradigms’ prioritization of economic growth, to the detriment of other aspects of development.

Author

• Aeshna Badruzzaman, Northeastern University