Institutionalizing societal activism within global governance structures: Amnesty International and the United Nations system

Abstract

Since the 1990s, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have increasingly participated within the forums of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Whereas most studies have focused on demonstrating that NGOs shape the processes and programmes of IGOs, little research has been conducted to examine how they accomplish this. Applying social movement theory, I develop an approach for examining NGO institutionalization within structures of global governance as provided by IGOs. This angle emphasizes the professionalization of NGOs on one hand and the formalization of regulations with intergovernmental institutions on the other as the factors explaining changes in their pattern of activities as regards IGOs. In the empirical part, the theoretical propositions are evaluated in relation to one of the most prominent and active NGOs in the United Nations (UN) context: Amnesty International. The paper is based on semi-structured expert interviews held with NGO representatives to the UN.