Open AccessA View from the Top: International Politics, Norms and the Worldwide Growth of NGOs
Author(s) -
REIMANN KIM D.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.897
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1468-2478
pISSN - 0020-8833
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2478.2006.00392.x
Subject(s) - politics , norm (philosophy) , argument (complex analysis) , political science , globalization , political economy , international relations , development economics , sociology , economics , law , biochemistry , chemistry
This article provides a “top‐down” explanation for the rapid growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the postwar period, focusing on two aspects of political globalization. First, I argue that international political opportunities in the form of funding and political access have expanded enormously in the postwar period and provided a structural environment highly conducive to NGO growth. Secondly, I present a norm‐based argument and trace the rise of a pro‐NGO norm in the 1980s and 1990s among donor states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), which has actively promoted the spread of NGOs to non‐Western countries. The article ends with a brief discussion of the symbiotic relationship among NGOs, IGOs, and states promoting international cooperation.