The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs

by Sarah S. Stroup, Wendy H. Wong

Overview

Not all international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are created equal, Some have emerged as "leading INGOs" that command deference from various powerful audiences and are well-positioned to influence the practices of states, corporations, and other INGOs. Yet Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong make a strong case for the tenuous nature of this position: in order to retain their authority, INGOs such as Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amnesty International refrain from expressing radical opinions that severely damage their long-term reputation. Stroup and Wong contend such INGOs must constantly adjust their behavior to maintain a delicate equilibrium that preserves their status.

Activists, scholars, and students seeking to understand how international organizations garner and conserve power—and how this affects their ability to fulfill their stated missions—will find much of value in The Authority Trap. The authors use case studies that illuminate how INGOs are received by three main audiences: NGO peers, state policymakers, and corporations. In the end, the authors argue, the more authority an INGO has, the more constrained is its ability to affect the conduct of world politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501712418
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	206
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sarah S. Stroup is Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College. She is the author of Borders among Activists, also from Cornell. Wendy Wong is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Internal Affairs, also from Cornell.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
1. The Authority Trap
2. Authority and Audiences
3. The Exceptional Nature of INGO Authority
4. Targeting States
5. INGOs and Corporations
6. Deference from INGOs
7. Audience-Based Authority in Politics
Appendix
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Claude E. Welch Jr.

In their first-rate book The Authority Trap, Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong extend the methodology and conclusions of the acknowledged masterpiece Activists Beyond Borders by Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink.

Michael Barnett

The Authority Trap is a significant contribution to our understanding of the world of international nongovernmental organizations. NGOs use their authority to influence others and promote social change. But NGOs are not born with equal amounts of authority. Instead, they must develop their authority, and, once they have it, they must preserve it. But how does their desire to preserve their authority affect their decisions for how to fight for social change? According to Stroup and Wong, the desire by NGOs to conserve their authority while also fighting the good fight can help account for why some of the leading NGOs seem to prefer small-bore reforms over radical change. The Authority Trap has the potential to point scholarship in new and fruitful directions.

Duncan Green

The Authority Trap argues that INGOs must pay a price for 'being (and staying) in the room' where decisions are made. Gaining and keeping access to power is difficult to achieve and fraught with compromise. NGO colleagues may not agree with everything the authors say (or their assumptions about what are the 'right' roles for INGOs), but they will find much to stimulate their thinking about how power and politics plays out in the aid business.

William E. DeMars

The Authority Trap represents a definitive advance in understanding the politics of international NGOs. Sarah Stroup and Wendy Wong make creative use of multiple available data sources and ratings systems to open windows into the hierarchy of international NGOs, and encourage a healthy questioning of the presumptive legitimacy and authority of leading NGOs in public discourse. The book is essential reading for a wide range of scholars, journalists, global activists, and policymakers.

Editorial Reviews

This work effectively highlights the need for NGOs to better recognize different roles within their community—and coordinate with one another with those in mind. Beyond academia, practitioners and activists, not to mention targets of NGOs themselves, will find this a constructive addition.

Choice

This work effectively highlights the need for NGOs to better recognize different roles within their community--and coordinate with one another with those in mind. Beyond academia, practitioners and activists, not to mention targets of NGOs themselves, will find this a constructive addition.

-- "Choice"

From the Publisher

"In their first-rate book The Authority Trap, Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong extend the methodology and conclusions of the acknowledged masterpiece Activists Beyond Borders by Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink."

Claude E. Welch Jr.

"The Authority Trap represents a definitive advance in understanding the politics of international NGOs. Sarah Stroup and Wendy Wong make creative use of multiple available data sources and ratings systems to open windows into the hierarchy of international NGOs, and encourage a healthy questioning of the presumptive legitimacy and authority of leading NGOs in public discourse. The book is essential reading for a wide range of scholars, journalists, global activists, and policymakers."

William E. DeMars

"The Authority Trap argues that INGOs must pay a price for 'being (and staying) in the room' where decisions are made. Gaining and keeping access to power is difficult to achieve and fraught with compromise. NGO colleagues may not agree with everything the authors say (or their assumptions about what are the 'right' roles for INGOs), but they will find much to stimulate their thinking about how power and politics plays out in the aid business."

Duncan Green

"The Authority Trap is a significant contribution to our understanding of the world of international nongovernmental organizations. NGOs use their authority to influence others and promote social change. But NGOs are not born with equal amounts of authority. Instead, they must develop their authority, and, once they have it, they must preserve it. But how does their desire to preserve their authority affect their decisions for how to fight for social change? According to Stroup and Wong, the desire by NGOs to conserve their authority while also fighting the good fight can help account for why some of the leading NGOs seem to prefer small-bore reforms over radical change. The Authority Trap has the potential to point scholarship in new and fruitful directions."

Michael Barnett