Overcoming the Disadvantages of Foreignness in Chinese NGOs’ Global Participation: Beyond an Identity-based Framework

• In Event: Civil society and public policy-making

Abstract

In recent years, Chinese NGOs have been proactively participating in international development aid and the global governance system. Some of them have made great contributions to the global society though emergency aid and poverty relief work and are widely recognized and acknowledged by local and global society. But many others face substantial political and cultural disadvantages when going abroad or when they already are abroad. These challenges include the skepticism of their Chinese identity in the political sense and normative values, their unfamiliarity with foreign policies and international standards, difficulties integrating into the local culture and global discourse system due to cultural and institutional differences, and the lack of support from the Chinese domestic system. This paper selects typical cases, including the ones that are completely private and the ones that are sponsored by the Chinese government, and discusses the patterns and mechanisms that Chinese NGOs adopt to participate in global governance and how they try to overcome the disadvantage as outsiders. Using an analysis framework of "institutional compliance-identity integration,” the study draws the following conclusions: First, while the political and cultural biases might always exist, the disadvantages they can cause for the Chinese NGOs can be filterd and compensated for by the NGOs’ professional capabilities as market stakeholders; and Second, the mechanism for overcoming the disadvantage can be summarized into three levels: institutional compliance and avoidance; identity integration and acceptance; and capacity compensation and innovation.

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Author

• Shaoming Zhu, University College Cork