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Non-governmental Organizations, Definitions, and History

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International Encyclopedia of Civil Society

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Definition

It is rarely possible to discuss issues of civil society, the non-profit sector, international aid, or philanthropy without encountering non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of some kind. Apart a formal notion that NGOs are organizations that are supposed to be distinct and separate from the worlds of government and for-profit business, NGOs are not easy to define in simple terms. They are highly diverse, with differences existing around key characteristics such as whether they are large/small, domestic/international, formal/informal, religious/secular, charitable/political, registered/unregistered, or funded/voluntarist. What constitutes an NGO in one country may not be accurate in another. Furthermore, there are many NGOs that receive high levels of government funding, and others that seek to generate profits from the market that they can plough back into their work. As one might expect from a classification that emphasizes what they are not rather than what they are,...

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  • Lewis, D., Kanji, N., & Themudo, N. S. (2021). Non-governmental organizations and development (2nd Revised ed.). London: Routledge.

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  • Verma, R., Gupta, S., & Birner, R. (2017). Can grassroots mobilization of the poorest reduce corruption? A tale of governance reforms and struggle against petty corruption in Bihar, India. Development and Change, 48(2), 339–363.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

    David Lewis

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  1. David Lewis
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Correspondence to David Lewis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Regina A. List

  2. Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Helmut K. Anheier

  3. Schar school, George Mason University, ARLINGTON, VI, USA

    Stefan Toepler

Section Editor information

  1. Hamburg, Germany

    Regina A. List

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Lewis, D. (2023). Non-governmental Organizations, Definitions, and History. In: List, R.A., Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_3-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_3-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99675-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99675-2

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