Nongovernmental organizations and the state in the developing world

Abstract

This dissertation explores the impact of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and state-civil society relations on national development. In doing so, it advances the development literature by keeping pace with the institutional changes brought about by decades of neoliberal policy. The NGO sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, becoming a major component of developing countries' civil societies and key actors in the development process at all levels, from the local to the global. NGOs now participate in everything from service delivery to policy design and advocacy. States, on the other hand, have seen aspects of their capacity weakened and their involvement in development transformed. At the same time, they are exposed to new demands and pressures by both domestic and international groups, including the NGO sector. Drawing on the insights of state, world society, and social capital theories, this dissertation addresses this new institutional reality of national development by examining the relationship between the state and NGO sector. The dissertation proceeds in two parts. Part I uses cross-national quantitative methods to assess the effect of global society embeddedness on national economic and social development, particularly through the promotion of more responsive and effective governance. As such, the analyses expand on and contribute empirically to the literature on the developmental state. Part II focuses on the state-NGO sector relationship more directly, using Qualitative Comparative Analysis and case study methods to identify types of state-civil society regimes, as well as the conditions associated with complementary state-NGO sector relations.

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