Skip to main content

The Effectiveness of Environmental Civil Society Organizations: An Integrated Analysis of Organizational Characteristics and Contextual Factors

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations volume 28, pages 1717–1741 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

A push to reverse unsustainable trends has come from environmental civil society, but its track record is somewhat inconsistent. Why are some environmental organizations able to enhance the environmental cause, while others fail to create a substantial impact in the move toward environmental sustainability? This paper considers related but disparate clusters of literature and identifies factors that have an impact on the effectiveness of civil society. It also addresses the ambiguity that is attached to civil society—a concept with considerable historical baggage and contextual differentiation. Given that each conceptualization of civil society has its own body of literature and that these do not necessarily speak to each other, we propose an analytical framework that integrates a variety of dimensions relevant to the analysis of environmental civil society organizations (CSOs): the degree of institutionalization, the mode of interaction with the state, sources of funding, the locus of mobilization, the choice of issue(s), and the degree of politicization. Using these organizational characteristics, our framework further integrates contextual factors, constructing a multidimensional space where there are opportunities and constraints for environmental CSOs. This framework allows us to examine diverse paths shaped by context-dependent strategic choices of environmental CSOs which may either limit or enhance their capacity to make an impact. These strategic choices are tracked by selecting entry points inspired by fieldwork conducted in Turkey—specifically, institutionalization, the choice of issue(s), and politicization.

Résumé

La société civile environnementale exerce des pressions pour renverser les tendances non durables, mais ses résultats sont quelque peu incohérents. Pourquoi certains organismes environnementaux peuvent-ils renforcer la cause écologique, tandis que d’autres n’ont aucune incidence d’importance sur la durabilité de l’environnement? Le présent article examine des groupes connexes, quoique variés, de documents et détermine les facteurs qui ont une incidence sur le rendement de la société civile. Il traite aussi de l’ambiguïté associée à celle-ci; un concept accompagné d’un bagage historique et d’une différenciation contextuelle considérables. Étant donné que chaque conceptualisation de la société civile est attachée à ses propres documents de référence et que ces derniers n’interagissent pas nécessairement, nous proposons un cadre de travail analytique qui intègre une variété de dimensions pertinentes à l’analyse d’organismes de la société civile environnementale : leur degré d’institutionnalisation, leur mode d’interaction avec l’État, leurs sources de financement, leurs lieux d’intervention, leur choix du ou des enjeux et leur niveau de politisation. En plus de ces caractéristiques organisationnelles, notre cadre intègre aussi des facteurs contextuels de façon à créer un espace multidimensionnel où lesdits organismes font face à des opportunités et à des contraintes. Ce cadre de travail nous permet d’examiner diverses voies définies par les choix stratégiques contextuels des organismes de la société civile environnementale, lesquels pourraient restreindre ou rehausser leur influence. Ces choix stratégiques sont étudiés en sélectionnant des points d’entrée inspirés de travaux réalisés en Turquie, précisément l’institutionnalisation, le choix du ou des enjeux et la politisation.

Zusammenfassung

Die ökologische Bürgergesellschaft hat Anstrengungen unternommen, um unnachhaltige Trends umzukehren; doch die Erfolgsbilanz ist ein wenig unbeständig. Warum sind einige Umweltorganisationen in der Lage, Umweltbelange zu fördern, während andere keinen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Bewegung in Richtung ökologische Nachhaltigkeit nehmen? Dieser Beitrag betrachtet verbundene, aber ungleiche Literatursammlungen und ermittelt die Faktoren, die sich auf die Effektivität der Bürgergesellschaft auswirken. Zudem wird die Ambiguität im Zusammenhang mit der Bürgergesellschaft angesprochen - ein Konzept mit beträchtlichen historischen Lasten und kontextueller Differenzierung. Angesichts der Tatsache, dass jede Konzeptualisierung der Bürgergesellschaft über ihre eigene Literatur verfügt, die nicht notwendigerweise auf andere Literatursammlungen eingeht, schlagen wir ein analytisches Rahmenwerk vor, dass eine Reihe von Dimensionen integriert, die für die Analyse von ökologischen Bürgergesellschaftsorganisationen relevant sind: der Grad an Institutionalisierung, der Interaktionsmodus mit dem Staat, die Finanzierungsquellen, der Mobilisierungslokus, die behandelten Themenbereiche und der Politisierungsgrad. Unter Verwendung dieser organisatorischen Merkmale integriert unser Rahmenwerk darüber hinaus kontextuelle Faktoren, wodurch ein multidimensionaler Raum entsteht, der Möglichkeiten und Beschränkungen für ökologische Bürgergesellschaftsorganisationen bereitstellt. Dieses Rahmenwerk ermöglicht es, verschiedene Wege zu untersuchen, die von kontextabhängigen strategischen Entscheidungen ökologischer Bürgergesellschaftsorganisationen gestaltet werden und die ihre Kapazitäten zur Einflussnahme entweder beschränken oder ausbauen. Man verfolgt diese strategischen Entscheidungen durch eine Auswahl von Einstiegspunkten in Anlehnung an eine Feldforschung in der Türkei; dabei handelt es sich insbesondere um die Institutionalisierung, die behandelten Themenbereiche und die Politisierung.

Resumen

La sociedad civil medioambiental ha provocado un impulso para revertir las tendencias no sostenibles, pero su historial es algo inconsistente. ¿Por qué algunas organizaciones medioambientales pueden mejorar la causa medioambiental, mientras que otras fracasan a la hora de crear un impacto sustancial en el movimiento hacia la sostenibilidad medioambiental? El presente documento considera agrupaciones relacionadas pero dispares de material publicado e identifica factores que tienen impacto sobre la efectividad de la sociedad civil. Aborda también la ambigüedad vinculada a la sociedad civil - un concepto con un bagaje histórico considerable y diferenciación contextual. Dado que cada conceptualización de la sociedad civil tiene su propio conjunto de publicaciones y que éstas no se hablan necesariamente, proponemos un marco analítico que integre una variedad de dimensiones pertinentes para el análisis de las organizaciones medioambientales de la sociedad civil (CSO, por su siglas en inglés): el grado de institucionalización, el modo de interacción con el estado, las fuentes de financiación, el lugar de movilización, la elección de tema(s) y el grado de politización. Utilizando estas características organizativas, nuestro marco integra también factores contextuales, construyendo un espacio multidimensional en el que hay oportunidades y restricciones para las CSO medioambientales. Este marco nos permite examinar diversas vías formadas por las elecciones estratégicas dependientes del contexto de las CSO medioambientales que pueden limitar o aumentar su capacidad para crear impacto. Estas elecciones estratégicas son rastreadas seleccionando puntos de entrada inspirados por el trabajo de campo realizado en Turquía - especialmente, la institucionalización, la elección de tema(s) y la politización.

摘要

改变不可持续趋势的推动力来自环境民间团体,但其带来的影响各不相同。为何一些环境组织能够增强环境因素,而其他组织则无法实质影响环境可持续性的向前发展?本文考虑了相关,但归属不同类别的文献,并确定了对民间团体的有效性带来影响的因素。这还针对民间团体存在的模糊性—存在极大历史包袱和背景差异的概念。考虑到民间团体的每个概念化都有自己的文献库,同时这些文献不一定彼此对应,因此我们建议使用分析框架,集成各种环境民间团体组织 (CSO) 的分析相关的维度:制度化程度,与国家的互动模式,资金来源,活动所在地,问题选择和政治化程度。使用这些组织特点,我们的框架进一步集成背景因素,构建为环境CSO带来机会和限制的多维度空间。本框架让我们能够检查环境CSO的背景相关战略性选择塑造的不同路径,这还可能限制或增强其作出影响的能力。通过选择由土耳其的现场调查得出的切入点,对这些战略性选择进行了跟踪—尤其是,制度化、问题选择和政治化。

要約

持続不可能な傾向を逆転させる活動は、環境市民社会から来ているが、その実績はやや一貫性がない。環境の持続可能性に向けて大きな影響を与えられない団体がある一方、環境団体によっては環境の要因を強化できるのはなぜだろうか。本論文では、異なる文献を考察して、市民社会の有効性に影響を与える要因を識別する。それはまた歴史的な背景を持つ概念として市民社会に関連付けられているあいまいさを指摘している。市民社会の各概念が文献において独自の組織を持ち、必ずしも互いに論じられることがないため、 制度化の段階、国の相互作用の状態、資金源、可動化、問題の選択、政治の局面といったさまざまな領域を統合して、環境の市民社会の組織(CSO)の解析に関連する分析的な枠組みを提案する。さらに枠組みとしては、これらの組織の特性を用いて、環境の市民社会の制約と機会を持つ多次元空間を構築して、文脈的要因を統合する。この枠組みでは、CSOが可能性を制限または強化して影響を与えることによって、環境市民社会におけるコンテキスト依存型の戦略的な選択を形成して多様な方向から調査することができる。これらの戦略的な選択では、トルコで実施したフィールドワークで触発されたエントリー・ポイント、具体的には制度化、問題の選択、政治問題化を選択して追跡する。

ملخص

لقد حان الوقت للضغط لعكس الإتجاهات التي لا يمكن أن تستمر من المجتمع المدني البيئي، لكن سجلها غير متناسق بعض الشيء. لماذا بعض المنظمات البيئية قادرة على تعزيز قضية البيئة، في حين فشل الآخرين لخلق تأثير كبير في التحرك نحو الإستدامة البيئية؟ هذا البحث يدرس مجموعات ذات صلة من الأدب ولكن متباينة ويحدد العوامل التي لها تأثير على فعالية المجتمع المدني. كما يتناول الغموض التي يتم تركيبه للمجتمع المدني - مفهوم به نظريات تاريخية كبيرة وتمايز سياقي. بالنظر إلى أن كل مفهوم للمجتمع المدني له هيئة خاصة به من الأدب وأنهم لا يتكلمون بالضرورة مع بعضهم البعض، فإننا نقترح إطار تحليلي يجمع بين مجموعة متنوعة من الأبعاد ذات الصلة لتحليل منظمات المجتمع المدني البيئية CSOs)): درجة لإضفاء الطابع المؤسسي، طريقة التفاعل مع الدولة، مصادر التمويل، مكان التعبئة، وإختيار موضوع (مواضيع)، ودرجة التسييس. بإستخدام هذه الخصائص التنظيمية ، إطارنا يدمج مزيد من العوامل السياقية، يبني فضاء متعدد الأبعاد حيث توجد فرص وقيود لمنظمات المجتمع المدني البيئية (CSOs). يسمح هذا الإطار لنا لدراسة مسارات متنوعة تتشكل من الخيارات الإستراتيجية التي تعتمد على سياق منظمات المجتمع المدني CSOs)) البيئية التي قد تحد أو تقوم بتعزيز قدرتها على أن يكون لها تأثير. يتم تتبع هذه الإختيارات الإستراتيجية عن طريق تحديد نقاط الدخول مستوحاة من الأعمال الميدانية التي أجريت في تركيا على وجه التحديد، المؤسسات، تنويع إختياراتك في مشكلة (مشاكل)، والتسييس.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Exceptions exist. See, e.g., Smith et al. (1997).

  2. The fieldwork that inspired and informed this paper was carried out from 2009 to 2011 and consisted of in-depth interviews with environmental CSO directors and staff, activists, relevant state bureaucrats and parliamentarians, funders, international organizations, and other experts. It focused on four leading national environmental organizations: Greenpeace Mediterranean, the Doğa Association, the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation, and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA), and WWF-Turkey.

  3. To cite a more concrete example, in Spain, for instance, increased institutionalization and professionalism have allowed major environmental groups to consolidate their political positions and operations effectively across the country, thanks to the possibility of setting up links and connections among local groups and branch offices (O’Brien 2009).

  4. Apart from membership fees and subscriptions, organizations may also raise funds through fundraising campaigns from the general public (rather than targeting a small but interested and devoted groups of individuals).

  5. NIMBYism refers to local level contentions, where residents oppose the targeted site of, for instance, an infrastructural or energy project in the vicinity of their habitat. While some local mobilizations have succumbed to parochialism, narrow interests, and a disregard for the general benefit to the broader public (Van der Horst 2007; Wolsink 2006)—characteristics generally associated with NIMBYism—studies have revealed that more complex dynamics are involved in local oppositions, leading scholars to question the accuracy of the NIMBY label. NIMBY has become a stigma used by proponents of large-scale projects with severe environmental costs to discredit all local environmental movements (Burningham 2000; Della Porta and Piazza 2008; Garavan 2007; Wolsink 2006).

  6. For instance, the campaigns against the construction of a high-speed railway in Val di Susa and a bridge on the Messina Strait in Italy (Della Porta and Piazza 2008) were able to attach themselves to a broader framework of ecological critique, expressed in their evaluation of consumption, current models of development, and value of the environment. Similarly, the campaign against the construction of a natural gas refinery in North Mayo in Ireland articulated the desire to conserve local life and human health (Garavan 2008).

  7. One example would be conservation in a setting where energy issues fall within the redlines of the state. It should also be noted that this distinction is increasingly becoming more apparent than real—see Paker et al. (2013) for further discussion.

  8. However, it should also be noted that the 1990s saw the emergence of the Bergama movement, the first and one of the most influential environmental movements in Turkey that mobilized against a transnational gold mining company and was in direct conflict with the state which endorsed the mine (Arsel 2005).

  9. See Paker et al. (2013) for a comprehensive discussion.

  10. In the case of the so-called “mega projects” of the incumbent government, however, where the main funding bank has no direct link to the organization, WWF-Turkey was able to stand up and critically engage with the government.

  11. The law on Pasture Land (Law No. 4342, 1998) and the law on Land Protection and Use (Law No. 5403, 2005). For a discussion, see Paker et al. (2013).

  12. There are obviously numerous other cases of local environmental resistance against issues such as the construction of nuclear and hydroelectric power plants, unsustainable urban renewal plans, and mega infrastructure projects.

  13. To give a few examples, in the case of Gerze, the thermal power plant project was halted (Arsel et al. 2015). In the case of Bergama, although the mine continued its operations, the extraction technology was upgraded. Also, the Bergama movement has had considerable impact as a source of inspiration for later environmental disputes (Arsel 2005; Uncu 2012).

References

  • AbouAssi, K. (2014). Get money get involved? NGO’s reactions to donor funding and their potential involvement in the public policy processes. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(4), 968–990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adaman, F., & Arsel, M. (2010). Globalization, development, and environmental policies in Turkey. In T. Çetin & F. Yılmaz (Eds.), Understanding the process of institutional change in Turkey: A political economy approach (pp. 319–336). New York: Nova.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adaman, F., & Arsel, M. (2012). Political economy of the environment in Turkey. In M. Heper & S. Sayarı (Eds.), Handbook of modern Turkey (pp. 317–326). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akbulut, B. (2010). State hegemony and sustainable development: A political economy analysis of two local experiences in Turkey. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Massachusetts.

  • Akbulut, B. (2014). Neither poor nor rich but “malcontent”: An anatomy of contemporary environmentalisms. Marmara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilimler Dergisi, 2(1), 9–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akbulut, B., & Adaman, F. (2013). The unbearable appeal of modernization: The fetish of growth. Perspectives: Political Analysis and Commentary from Turkey, 5, 14–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anheier, H. K. (2014). Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anheier, H. K., Glasius, M., & Kaldor, M. (2001). Global civil society yearbook 2001. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anheier, H. K., Glasius, M., & Kaldor, M. (2004). Global civil society yearbook 2004. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arsel, M. (2005). The Bergama imbroglio. In F. Adaman & M. Arsel (Eds.), Environmentalism in Turkey: Between democracy and development? (pp. 263–276). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arsel, M., Akbulut, B., & Adaman, F. (2015). Environmentalism of the malcontent: Anatomy of an anti-coal power plant struggle in Turkey. Journal of Peasant Studies, 42(2), 371–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atack, I. (1999). Four criteria of development NGO legitimacy. World Development, 27(5), 855–864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banks, N., Hulme, D., & Edwards, M. (2015). NGOs, states, and donors revisited: Still too close for comfort? World Development, 66, 707–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barr, A., Fafchamps, M., & Owens, T. (2005). The governance of non-governmental organizations in Uganda. World Development, 33(4), 657–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bromley, D. W. (1989). Economic interests and institutions. The conceptual foundations of public policy. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. (2014). Negotiating the NGO/social movement dichotomy: Evidence from Punjab, India. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(1), 46–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brulle, R., & Jenkins, J. (2006). Spinning our way to sustainability? Organization and Environment, 19(1), 82–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brumley, K. M. (2010). Understanding Mexican NGOs: Goals, strategies, and the local context. Qualitative Sociology, 33(3), 389–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, R. L. (2001). Explaining state-environmental NGO relations in the Philippines and Indonesia. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 22(1), 15–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunyan, P. (2014). Re-conceptualizing civil society: Towards a radical understanding. International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(2), 538–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burningham, K. (2000). Using the language of NIMBY: A topic for research, not an activity for researchers. Local Environment, 5(1), 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza, R., Kubiszewski, I., Giovanni, E., Lovins, H., McGlade, J., Pickett, K. E., et al. (2014). Time to leave GDP behind. Nature, 505(7483), 283–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Della Porta, D., & Piazza, G. (2008). Voices of the valley, voices of the straits: How protest creates communities. New York: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eder, M. (2007). Moldovyalı yeni göçmenler üzerinden Türkiye’deki neoliberal devleti yeniden düşünmek [Rethinking the neoliberal state in Turkey through new Moldavian migrants]. Toplum ve Bilim, 108, 129–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M. (2009). Civil society (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M., Hulme, D., & Wallace, T. (1999). NGOs in a global future: Marrying local delivery to worldwide leverage. Public Administration and Development, 19(2), 117–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fioramonti, L. (2013). Gross domestic problem: The politics behind the world’s powerful number. London: Zedbooks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fioramonti, L., & Kononykhina, O. (2015). Measuring the enabling environment of civil society: A global capability index. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26(2), 466–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, W. F. (1997). Doing good? The politics and antipolitics of NGO practices. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26(1), 439–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garavan, M. (2007). Resisting the costs of “development”: Local environmental activism in Ireland. Environmental Politics, 16(5), 844–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garavan, M. (2008). Problems in achieving dialogue: Cultural misunderstandings in the Corrib Gas Dispute. In R. Edmondson & H. Rau (Eds.), Environmental argument and cultural difference: Locations, fractures, deliberations (pp. 65–92). Bern: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harsh, M., Mbatia, P., & Shrum, W. (2010). Accountability and inaction: NGOs and resource lodging in development. Development and Change, 41(2), 253–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helmig, B., Ingerfurth, S., & Pinz, A. (2014). Success and failure of nonprofit organizations: Theoretical foundations, empirical evidence, and future research. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(6), 1509–1538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, S. L. (2002). Selling civil society: Western aid and the nongovernmental organization sector in Russia. Comparative Political Studies, 35(2), 139–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Igoe, J. (2003). Scaling up civil society: Donor money, NGOs and the pastoralist land rights movement in Tanzania. Development and Change, 34(5), 863–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, T. (2009). Prosperity without growth: Economics for a finite planet. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kadirbeyoğlu, Z. (2005). Assessing the efficacy of transnational advocacy networks. In F. Adaman & M. Arsel (Eds.), Environmentalism in Turkey: Between democracy and development? (pp. 101–116). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamat, S. (2004). The privatization of public interest: Theorizing NGO discourse in a neoliberal era. Review of International Political Economy, 11(1), 155–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keck, M. E., & Sikkink, K. (1998). Activists beyond borders: Advocacy networks in international politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenis, A., & Lievens, M. (2014). Searching for the “political” in environmental politics. Environmental Politics, 23(4), 531–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyman, E. F. (2005). Modernity, democracy, and civil society. In F. Adaman & M. Arsel (Eds.), Environmentalism in Turkey: Between democracy and development? (pp. 35–52). Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotzian, P., & Steffek, J. (2013). Do members make a difference? A study of transnational civil society organizations. European Political Science Review, 5(1), 55–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. (2002). Mining conflicts, environmental justice and valuation. In J. Agyeman, R. D. Bullard, & B. Evans (Eds.), Just sustainabilities: Development in an unequal world (pp. 201–229). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Alier, J. (2003). Environmentalism of the poor. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdam, D., McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (Eds.). (1996). Comparative perspectives on social movements: Political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and cultural framings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migdal, J. S. (1997). Studying the state. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckerman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure (pp. 208–236). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migdal, J. S. (2001). State in society: Studying how states and societies transform and constitute one another. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Migdal, J. S., Kohli, A., & Shue, V. (Eds.). (1994). State power and social forces: Domination and transformation in the Third World. New York: Cambridge University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milligan, C., & Fyfe, N. R. (2005). Preserving space for volunteers: Exploring the links between voluntary welfare organizations, volunteering, and citizenship. Urban Studies, 42(3), 417–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, G. E. (2014). Strategic responses to resource dependence among transnational NGOs registered in the united states. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(1), 67–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohan, G. (2002). The disappointments of civil society: The politics of NGO intervention in northern Ghana. Political Geography, 21(1), 125–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe, C. (2005). On the political. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, T. (2009). Shifting views of environmental NGOs in Spain and Romania. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 9(1–2), 143–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogliastri, E., Jäger, U. P., & Prado, A. M. (2016). Strategy and structure in high-performing nonprofits: Insights from Iberoamerican cases. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(1), 222–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paker, H., Adaman, F., Kadirbeyoğlu, Z., & Özkaynak, B. (2013). Environmental organisations in Turkey: Engaging the state and capital. Environmental Politics, 22(5), 760–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfeifer, E. (2011). De-politicizing the environment: An inquiry into the nature of the sustainable development discourse [online]. Global Politics. http://www.globalpolitics.cz/clanky/de-politicizing-the-environment-an-inquiry-into-the-nature-of-the-sustainable-development-discourse. Accessed 20 March 2014.

  • Ramanath, R. (2009). Limits to institutional isomorphism: Examining internal processes in NGO-government interactions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(1), 51–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raustiala, K. (1997). States, NGOs, and international environmental institutions. International Studies Quarterly, 41(4), 719–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, M. G. (1997). The provision of environmental goods and services by local non-governmental organizations: An illustration from the Squamish Forest District, Canada. Journal of Rural Studies, 13(2), 177–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, J. P., & Heard, J. (2005). European environmental NGOs: Issues, resources and strategies in marine campaigns. Environmental Politics, 14(1), 23–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rootes, C. (2008). Acting locally: The character, contexts and significance of local environmental mobilizations. In C. Rootes (Ed.), Acting locally: Local environmental mobilizations and campaigns (pp. 2–21). London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanyal, P. (2006). Capacity building through partnership: Intermediary nongovernmental organizations as local and global actors. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(1), 66–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmelzer, M. (2015). The growth paradigm: History, hegemony, and the contested making of economic growthmanship. Ecological Economics, 118, 262–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siméant, J. (2005). What is going global? The internationalization of French NGOs “without borders”. Review of International Political Economy, 12(5), 851–883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skocpol, T. (1985). Bringing the state back in: Strategies of analysis in current research. In P. B. Evans, D. Rueschemeyer, & T. Skocpol (Eds.), Bringing the state back in (pp. 3–43). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J., Chatfield, C., & Pagnucco, R. (1997). Transnational social movements and global politics: Solidarity beyond the state. New York: Syracuse University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J., & Wiest, D. (2012). Social movements in the world-system. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swyngedouw, E. (2007). Impossible sustainability and the postpolitical condition. In R. Krueger & D. Gibbs (Eds.), The sustainable development paradox: Urban political economy in the United States and Europe (pp. 13–40). New York: Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swyngedouw, E. (2010). Apocalypse forever? Post-political populism and the spectre of climate change. Theory, Culture and Society, 27(2–3), 213–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarrow, S. (2005). The new transnational activism. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tarrow, S. (2011). Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Uncu, B. A. (2012). Within borders, beyond borders: The Bergama movement at the junction of local, national and transnational practices. Unpublished PhD thesis, LSE.

  • Uvin, P., Jain, P. S., & Brown, L. D. (2000). Think large and act small: Toward a new paradigm for NGO scaling up. World Development, 28(8), 1409–1419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Heijden, H. (1997). Political opportunity structure and the institutionalisation of the environmental movement. Environmental Politics, 6(4), 25–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Horst, D. (2007). NIMBY or not? Exploring the relevance of location and the politics of voiced opinions in renewable energy siting controversies. Energy Policy, 35(5), 2705–2714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vatn, A. (2005). Institutions and the environment. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voulvouli, A. (2011). Grassroots mobilization in Turkey: The transnational character of local environmental protests. International Journal of Academic Research, 3(1), 881–888.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitelaw, G. S., Eagles, P. J. F., Gibson, R. B., & Seasons, M. L. (2008). Roles of environmental movement organisations in land-use planning: Case studies of the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine, Ontario, Canada. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 51(6), 801–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolsink, M. (2006). Invalid theory impedes our understanding: A critique on the persistence of the language of NIMBY. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 31(1), 85–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zchout, S. L., & Tal, A. (2016). Conflict versus consensus strategic orientations among environmental NGOs: An empirical evaluation. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. doi:10.1007/s11266-016-9723-2.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Barış Gençer Baykan for his research assistance during the fieldwork that informs the analytical framework proposed in the article. This research was funded by a national Grant from TUBITAK, Project Number 108K383. We also thank Ege Zeytun and Ceren Nur Pekdemir who provided research assistance and Peggy Alptekin for English editing. The usual disclaimer applies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and International Relations, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu

  2. Department of Economics, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Fikret Adaman & Begüm Özkaynak

  3. Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bahçeşehir University, Çırağan cad., Osmanpaşa mektebi sk. 4-6, Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey

    Hande Paker

Authors
  1. Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fikret Adaman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Begüm Özkaynak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hande Paker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hande Paker.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kadirbeyoğlu, Z., Adaman, F., Özkaynak, B. et al. The Effectiveness of Environmental Civil Society Organizations: An Integrated Analysis of Organizational Characteristics and Contextual Factors. Voluntas 28, 1717–1741 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-017-9848-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-017-9848-y

Keywords

  • Environmental organizations
  • Civil society
  • Depoliticization
  • Institutionalization
  • Choice of issue
  • Turkey