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Who survived? Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs

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  • Kendra E Dupuy
  • James Ron
  • Aseem Prakash

Abstract

How do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? Because many NGOs advocate liberal causes, such as human rights, democracy, and gender equality, they upset the political status quo. At the same time, a large number of NGOs operating in the Global South rely on international funding. This sometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation of sham or 'briefcase' NGOs. Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenient NGO sector, governments exploit the role of international funding and make the case for restricting the influence of NGOs that serve as foreign agents. To pursue this objective, states worldwide are enacting laws to restrict NGOs' access to foreign funding. We examine this regulatory offensive through an Ethiopian case study, where recent legislation prohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitive issues. We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups in Ethiopia have disappeared, while survivors have either 'rebranded' or switched their work from proscribed areas. This research note highlights how governments can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector. Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims of grassroots support, a reliance on external funding makes them politically vulnerable. Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as the key component of NGOs' institutional environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Kendra E Dupuy & James Ron & Aseem Prakash, 2015. "Who survived? Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 419-456, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rripxx:v:22:y:2015:i:2:p:419-456
    DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2014.903854
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    1. Yusuf Ekrem AKBAS & Mehmet SENTURK & Gokcen OZKAN, 2012. "The Analysis Of Fluctuations And Causality Of Current Deficit - Economic Growth And Short Term Capital Flows: The Case Of Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development," Journal of Applied Economic Sciences Quarterly, ASERS Publishing, vol. 0(4), pages 334-344, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hui Li & May Farid, 2023. "Stay or exit: How do international nongovernmental organizations respond to institutional pressures under authoritarianism?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 512-530, April.
    2. Appe Susan & Barragán Daniel & Telch Fabian, 2019. "Organized Civil Society Under Authoritarian Populism: Cases from Ecuador," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, October.
    3. Wasif Rafeel & Prakash Aseem, 2017. "Do Government and Foreign Funding Influence Individual Donations to Religious Nonprofits? A Survey Experiment in Pakistan," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 237-273, September.
    4. Urquía-Grande, Elena & Estébanez, Raquel Pérez & Alcaraz-Quiles, Francisco José, 2022. "Impact of Non-Profit Organizations’ Accountability: Empirical evidence from the democratic Republic of Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    5. Wondirad, Amare & Ewnetu, Biruk, 2019. "Community participation in tourism development as a tool to foster sustainable land and resource use practices in a national park milieu," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Tigist Grieve & Rafael Mitchell, 2020. "Promoting Meaningful and Equitable Relationships? Exploring the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Funding Criteria from the Perspectives of African Partners," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 514-528, July.
    7. Nora Berger‐Kern & Fabian Hetz & Rebecca Wagner & Jonas Wolff, 2021. "Defending Civic Space: Successful Resistance Against NGO Laws in Kenya and Kyrgyzstan," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S5), pages 84-94, July.
    8. Naomi Hossain & Marjoke Oosterom, 2021. "The Implications of Closing Civic Space for Hunger and Poverty in the Global South," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S5), pages 59-69, July.
    9. Inken von Borzyskowski, 2016. "Resisting democracy assistance: Who seeks and receives technical election assistance?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 247-282, June.
    10. Nicola Banks & Tony Brockington, 2019. "Mapping the UK’s development NGOs: income, geography and contributions to international development," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 352019, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    11. Tigist Grieve & Rafael Mitchell, 0. "Promoting Meaningful and Equitable Relationships? Exploring the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Funding Criteria from the Perspectives of African Partners," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    12. Parkes, Jenny & Ross, Freya Johnson & Heslop, Jo, 2020. "The ebbs and flows of policy enactments on school-related gender-based violence: Insights from Ethiopia, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Ines M. Pousadela & Dominic R. Perera, 2021. "The Enemy Within? Anti‐Rights Groups and Restrictions on Civil Society," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S5), pages 34-44, July.
    14. Aeshna Badruzzaman, 2023. "Repositioning urban bias: Non‐state providers' use of spatialised networks in Bangladesh," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 49-59, February.
    15. Suparna Chaudhry & Marc Dotson & Andrew Heiss, 2021. "Who Cares about Crackdowns? Exploring the Role of Trust in Individual Philanthropy," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S5), pages 45-58, July.
    16. Enrico Fornasiero, 2024. "The Impact of Non-Governmental Organisations on Children’s Wellbeing: Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers 2024: 18, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    17. Nicole Janz & Noel Johnston & Paasha Mahdavi, 2022. "Expropriation and human rights: does the seizure of FDI signal wider repression?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 847-875, October.
    18. Kendra Dupuy & Luc Fransen & Aseem Prakash, 2021. "Restricting NGOs: From Pushback to Accommodation," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S5), pages 5-10, July.

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