Assignment 2 International Organizations
Samantha Nijboer- 2078352
INGOs
NGOs and INGO’s are non-state actors that arise from diverse environments and operate in diverse
environments. NGOs are voluntary organizations formed by individuals to achieve a common purpose,
often oriented on humanitarian aid, or the public good, without the mandate of the government. They
are mostly non-profit organizations and are funded by individuals, families or corporations for
charitable purposes. However there has been some criticism about the waning effectiveness and
influence of INGOs. Volker Heins (2008) even describes international NGOs as “…benign parasites…
much like other political actors”, since some NGOs no longer act as if they are oriented on the public
good, but more and more that they are oriented on their own agendas and nowadays work out of self-
interest instead of the interest of the public good.
Firstly, as stated by Karns et al. (2015), sixty-seven people from NGO field personnel have been
misusing their position of power in humanitarian crises. They were said to be exchanging food for
sexual favors with the people in refugee camps. This happened in over forty different aid agencies.
These NGOs are supposed to be looking out for the people in a humanitarian crisis and are in a
position to help them, and should not enhance or bring them more traumas. This shows a purely self-
interested side of NGOs, whereas NGOs should be functioning to serve out of interest for the people.
Secondly, there has also been quite some backlash over NGOs that are trying to act like
governments or states. NGOs are not supposed to be political actors, but as Volker Heins (2008)
describes, some NGOs do act like it. For example, according to Karns et al. (2015) after the
earthquake in Haiti in 2010, NGOs had to come in and act as government by providing basic
necessities such as emergency medical care, education and sanitation, since there donors were pressure
forcing the government to outsource numerous governmental functions, causing the people to look
more and more to NGOs as a governmental and political function. Analysts of the Unites States
Institute of Peace stated “the Haitian people have learned to look to NGOs, rather than the
government, for provision of essential services. Funneling aid through NGOs perpetuated a cycle of
low capacity, corruption and accountability among Haitian government institutions” (Kristoff and
Panarelli, 2010). This shows that NGOs obtained a political power, and have authority over an area by
performing governmental functions, which is not what NGOs stand for.
In conclusion, Volker Heins (2008) is right in a way that NGOs do not stand for what they used to.
There are reasonable doubts about the waning effectiveness and influence of NGOs. They have a vast
list of aid misappropriation, abuse of power and trust, and have indeed been exerting political
influence over regions. Volker Heins opinions are valid, since “NGOs indeed have been behaving and
misbehaving just like MNCs, IGOs and states.”(Karns et al., 2015).
Sources:
- Karns, M., Mingst, K., Stiles, K. (2015). International Organizations (3rd ed.). Lynne Rienner
Publishers,Inc. file:///Users/reiniervoorn/Downloads/International%20Organizations%20The
%20Politics%20and%20Processes%20of%20Global%20Governance%20(%20etc.)%20(z-
lib.org).pdf
