NGOs and International Civil Society
History 300 / October 31, 2013

I. NGOs in the “First” Cold War, 1940s-1960s
            A. Who carried out government aid projects?
                        1. Economists are everywhere!
                        2. Private contractors (engineers, etc.)
                        3. Peace corps volunteers
            B. Major foundations: private money at work
                        1. US institutions: Ford, Rockefeller Foundations
                        2. German institutions: Konrad Adenauer &
                                Friedrich Ebert Foundations
            C. Trade unions (East & West) court Third World workers
            D. Religious networks: missionaries, charities, translators
II. Behind the explosion in international civil society
            A. “New social movements”, ca. 1963-1975
                        1. Civil rights (esp. in USA)
                        2. Student protests (across the West)
                        3. Feminism
                        4. Environmentalism
            B. The retreat of the state?
                        1. Fiscal & budgetary strains
                        2. Declining faith in technocracy
            C. Further enabling factors
                        1. Adequate wealth and education
                        2. Global flows of information
                              (media-driven activism)
III. Patterns of NGO activity
            A. Advantages enjoyed by NGOs
                        1. Greater mobility in contested regions
                        2. Greater freedom to publish damning reports
                        3. Ease in facilitating person-to-person contacts
            B. Disadvantages faced by NGOs
                        1. Splintered activities
                        2. Particularist agendas
                        3. Problems of democratic legitimation
                        4. Problems of cultural bias
            C. Examples of prominent NGOs
                        1. Doctors Without Borders
                              = Medicins sans frontières (MSF)
                        2. Amnesty International
                        3. The Aga Khan Development Network
IV. NGOs and the rise of the “Second Cold War”
            A. Civil society (on the right) revives anti-communism
                        1. Human Rights Watch celebrates dissidents
                        2. Charter 77 (Czech.), Solidarity (Poland)
                        3. Conservative intellectuals back US buildups
            B. Civil society (on the left) reacts against the new Cold War
                        1. Massive peace movements, 1981-83
                        2. Strident critiques vs. Reagan policies in LA