Introduction: Gorillas, Ants, Elephants, Canaries

Abstract

At a Northern government workshop in the mid-1990s, one experienced official described nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as the elephants of international relations. ‘We deal with them because they are like elephants in your living room; you cannot but deal with them.’ Later in his talk, warming to the zoological theme, he also compared NGOs to gorillas. ‘It helps,’ he said, ‘to have an 800-pound gorilla with you when you are negotiating — someone to apply a little “reasonable” persuasion’ in cases where the government and NGOs see eye-to-eye in opposition to some joint enemy. Even if they are not accountable (‘Whom do they represent?’ he asked rhetorically, voicing the usual question), government had to come up with a strategy for managing its interactions with this phenomenal force. There were, not surprisingly, irritated rumblings from the activists in the room.