Nongovernmental Organisations

Abstract

Elsenhans sees nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) as being no different in their economic basis to the more idealistically minded members of the state classes that make up rent-based states. This economic basis consists of a rent acquired in their societies of origin and at the international level (United Nations, government aid budgets, private foundations, etc.). The donor-recipient relationship forces the NGO to adhere to the power structure of the West to receive funds. He sees a growing disillusionment with NGOs, stemming from their bureaucratisation and the increasing dominance of middle-class perspectives, which is caused by NGOs ultimately having to answer to international donors. Elsenhans conceives the challenge of globalisation as the ability of developing countries to reach a state of high employment; while acknowledging the good intentions of NGOs, he sees them not only as doing nothing to increasing employment (read: developing), but actually acting as a hindrance in achieving it as they occupy political spaces that crowd out alternatives.