Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T20:56:59.115Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

seven - From adversary to ally: the evolution of non-governmental organisations in the context of health reform in Santiago and Montevideo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2022

Get access

Summary

Introduction

The non-governmental organisation (NGO), which traces the beginning of its modern mission to the need to rebuild a Europe ravaged by the Second World War, represents an organisational form that is rapidly evolving in response to complex global, national and local forces, and that at the same time is redefining the role of the state and of civil society in the provision of social services. Despite the relatively recent global and large-scale proliferation of the NGO phenomenon, they have existed for centuries. Their founding philosophy is perhaps best embodied in the religious requirement that the pious believer practise good works and minister to the poor. In more recent manifestations their role has often been to reaffirm the domain of civil society in opposition to repressive states. Today, neither the simple philosophy of good works nor the role of opposition adequately summarises the purpose or function of the large-scale, professionalised and internationally funded organisations that sponsor more local activities. Nor do they adequately characterise the function of local NGOs that find their original role as adversaries of repressive governments changing more towards that of allies of national, regional and municipal administrations in providing social services to indigent and vulnerable populations.

During the last few decades, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work underscores the growing importance of the non-governmental sector in areas such as human rights, sustainable development, the environment, education and health. Much of this work is based on case studies and deals with the nature of the relationship between what have been characterised as ‘northern’ NGOs – the large multinational organisations such as Oxfam International, CARE, Human Rights Watch and hundreds of others that have their headquarters in Europe or the US and that funnel money to ‘southern’ NGOs that are in direct contact with the target populations – and these southern NGOs (Fowler, 1988; Clark, 1991; Pearce, 1993; Renshaw, 1994; Benett and Gibbs, 1996). Much work also deals with the role of governmental entities such as the International Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations in defining the mission of local NGOs.

One recent research initiative attempts to catalogue and categorise these organisations for the purpose of international comparison (Salamon and Anheier, 1994, 1998, 1999). Despite this body of research, though, the NGO phenomenon remains poorly understood, especially in terms of the ways in which individual organisations have evolved in response to global forces.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×