NGO Governance and Management
NGO Governance and Management
The rise of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as formal institutions is a relatively recent development. This course explores the organizational structures of NGOs, their relationships with key actors and stakeholders, and the major issues they face in contemporary contexts. Drawing on both theoretical frameworks and practical case studies, the course critically examines whether certain types of NGOs are more effective at navigating local and global institutional environments. It also addresses the management challenges NGOs encounter and the strategic tools available to help them adapt and thrive.
Lewis, D., Kanji, N. and Themudo, N.S. (2020) “Introduction: What are Non-Governmental Organizations?”, in D. Lewis, N. Kanji, N.S. Themudo (eds.), Non-Governmental Organizations and Development. London: Routledge.
Reimann, K.D. (2006) “A View from the Top: International Politics, Norms and the Worldwide Growth of NGOs”, International Studies Quarterly 50(1): 45-68.
Mitchell, G.E. and Stroup, S.S. (2017) “The Reputations of NGOs: Peer Evaluations of Effectiveness”, Review of International Organizations 12: 397-419.
Atia, M. and Herrold, C.E. (2018) “Governing Through Patronage: The Rise of NGOs and the Fall of Civil Society in Palestine and Morocco”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 29: 1044-1054.
Kaldor, M. (2003) “The Idea of Global Civil Society”, International Affairs 79(3): 583-593.
Anderson, K. and Rieff, D. (2005) “Global Civil Society: A Sceptical View”, in H. Anheier, M. Glasius and M. Kaldor (eds.) Global Civil Society 2004/5. London: Sage.
Hensby, A. and O’Byrne, D.J. (2012) “Global Civil Society and the Cosmopolitan Ideal”, in G. Delanty (ed.), Routledge International Handbook of Cosmopolitanism Studies. London: Routledge.
Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2021) “Rethinking Global Civil Society in an Era of a Rising China”, The China Review 21(3): 221-246 . [audio paper: video and podcast] [public talk: podcast]
Toepler, S., Zimmer, A., Frohlich, C. and Obuch, K. (2020) ”The Changing Space for NGOs: Civil Society in Authoritarian and Hybrid Regimes”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 31: 649-662.
Hsu, J., Hsu, C. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “NGO Strategies in an Authoritarian Context, and their Implications for Citizenship: The Case of the People’s Republic of China”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 28(3): 1157-1179. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Teets, J., Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C. and Hsu, J. (2022) “Volunteerism and Democratic Learning in an Authoritarian State: The Case of China”, Democratization 29(5): 879-898. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Chaudhry S. (2022) “The Assault on Civil Society: Explaining State Crackdown on NGOs”, International Organization 76(3): 549-590.
Gazley, B. and Brudney, J.L. (2007) “The Purpose (and Peril) of Government Nonprofit Partnership”, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 36: 389-415.
Toepler, S., Zimmer, A., Levy, K. and Frohlich, C. (2023) “Beyond the Partnership Paradigm: Toward an Extended Typology of Government/Nonprofit Relationship Patterns“, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 52(1): 160s-186s.
Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T. and Hsu, J. (2019) “Conceptualizing Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations”, Journal of Civil Society 15(3): 267-284. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2014) “Isomorphic Pressures, Epistemic Communities and State-NGO Collaboration in China”, The China Quarterly 220: 936-954. [audio paper: video and podcast] [public talk: video and podcast]
AbouAssi, K. and Trent, D.L. (2016) “NGO Accountability from an NGO Perspective: Perceptions, Strategies and Practices”, Public Administration and Development 36(4): 283-296.
El Assal, A. and Among-Lutz, I (2025) “Urban Public Perceptions of NGOs’ Accountability and Legitimacy: A Social Media Analysis of #UgandaNGOsExhibition”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 36(2 ): 166-178.
Hasmath, R. and Hsu, J. (2020) “A Community of Practice for Chinese NGOs”, Journal of Chinese Political Science 25(4): 575-589. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Hsu, J. and Hasmath, R. (2017) “A Maturing Civil Society in China? The Role of Knowledge and Professionalization in the Development of NGOs”, China Information 31(1): 22-42. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Carpenter, R.C. (2007) “Setting the Advocacy Agenda: Theorizing Issue Emergence and Nonemergence in Transnational Advocacy Networks”, International Studies Quarterly 51: 99-120.
Tallberg, J., Dellmuth, L.M., Agne, H. and Duit, A. (2018) “NGO Influence in International Organizations: Information, Access and Exchange”, British Journal of Political Science 48(1): 213-238.
Hall, N., Schmitz, H.P. and Dedmon, J.M. (2019) “Transnational Advocacy and NGOs in the Digital Era: New Forms of Networked Power”, International Studies Quarterly 64: 159-167.
Tam, J. and Hasmath, R. (2015) “Navigating Uncertainty: The Survival Strategies of Religious NGOs in China”, Journal of Civil Society 11(3): 282-299. [audio paper: video and podcast]
Banks, N. Hulme, D. and Edwards, M. (2015) “NGOs, States and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort?”, World Development 66: 707-718.
Bloodgood, E. and Tremblay-Boire, J. (2017) “Does Government Funding Depoliticize Non-Governmental Organizations? Examining Evidence from Europe”, European Political Science Review 9(3): 401-424.
Hildebrandt, T. (2015) “‘From NGO to Enterprise: The Political Economy of Activist Adaptation in China’”, pp. 123-138 in R. Hasmath and J. Hsu (eds.) NGO Governance and Management in China. New York and Oxford: Routledge. [public talk: video]
Bhati, A. and Eikenberry, A.M. (2016) “Faces of the Needy: The Portrayal of Destitute Children in the Fundraising Campaigns of NGOs in India”, Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing 21(1): 31-42.
Carolei, D. and Bernaz, N. (2021) “Accountability for Human Rights: Applying Business and Human Rights Instruments to Non-Governmental Organizations”, Journal of Human Rights Practice 13(3): 507-528.
Dietrich, S. and Murdie, A. (2017) “Human Rights Shaming Through INGOs and Foreign Aid Delivery”, Review of International Organizations 12: 95-120.
Peterson, T.M., Murdie, A., and Asal, V. (2018) “Human Rights, NGO Shaming and the Exports of Abusive States”, British Journal of Political Science 48(3): 767-786.
Hasmath, R. (2025) “When Naming and Shaming Works: A Theory of Strategic Receptivity in Authoritarian Regimes”, Working Paper. [public talk: video and podcast]
Schneiker, A. (2015) “Humanitarian NGO Security Networks and Organisational Learning: Identity Matters and Matters of Identity”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 26: 144-170.
Cuttitta, P. (2018) “Repoliticization Through Search and Rescue? Humanitarian NGOs and Migration Management in the Central Mediterranean”, Geopolitics 23(3): 632-660.
Ishkanian, A. and Shutes, I. (2022) “Who Needs the Experts? The Politics and Practices of Alternative Humanitarianism and its Relationship to NGOs”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 33(2): 397-407.
Hoang, K.K. (2016) “Perverse Humanitarianism and the Business of Rescue: What’s Wrong with NGOs and What’s Right About the “Johns”?”, Political Power and Social Theory 30: 19-43.
Wapner, P. (2002) “Horizontal Politics: Transnational Environmental Activism and Global Cultural Change”, Global Environmental Politics 2(2): 37-63.
Rietig, K. (2016) “The Power of Strategy: Environmental NGO Influence in International Climate Negotiations”, Global Governance 22(2): 269-288.
Hadden, J. and Jasny, L. (2019) “The Power of Peers: How Transnational Advocacy Networks Shape NGO Strategies on Climate Change”, British Journal of Political Science 49(2): 637-659.
Dupire, M., Filbien, J-Y, M’Zali, B. (2022) “Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Tweets: Do Shareholders Care?”, Business and Society 61(2): 419-456.