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Who survived Ethiopiasregulatory crackdown onforeign-funded NGOsKendra E Dupuyabc James Ronde amp Aseem Prakasha
a Department of Political Science University ofWashington Seattle USAb The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Norwayc Chr Michelsen Institute (CMI) Norwayd Humphrey School for Public Affairs and Departmentof Political Science University of MinnesotaMinneapolis USAe Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE)Mexico City MexicoPublished online 10 Apr 2014
To cite this article Kendra E Dupuy James Ron amp Aseem Prakash (2014) Who survivedEthiopias regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs Review of InternationalPolitical Economy DOI 101080096922902014903854
To link to this article httpdxdoiorg101080096922902014903854
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Who survived Ethiopiarsquos regulatorycrackdown on foreign-funded NGOs
Kendra E Dupuy123 James Ron45 andAseem Prakash1
1Department of Political Science University of Washington Seattle USA 2ThePeace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Norway 3Chr Michelsen Institute(CMI) Norway 4Humphrey School for Public Affairs and Department ofPolitical Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis USA 5Center for
Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) Mexico City Mexico
ABSTRACT
How do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Because many NGOs advocateliberal causes such as human rights democracy and gender equality theyupset the political status quo At the same time a large number of NGOsoperating in the Global South rely on international funding Thissometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation ofsham or lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenientNGO sector governments exploit the role of international funding andmake the case for restricting the influence of NGOs that serve as foreignagents To pursue this objective states worldwide are enacting laws torestrict NGOsrsquo access to foreign funding We examine this regulatoryoffensive through an Ethiopian case study where recent legislationprohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitiveissues We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups inEthiopia have disappeared while survivors have either lsquorebrandedrsquo orswitched their work from proscribed areas This research note highlightshow governments can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims ofgrassroots support a reliance on external funding makes them politicallyvulnerable Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as thekey component of NGOsrsquo institutional environment
KEYWORDS
NGOs regulations foreign funding human rights Ethiopia Africa
2014 Taylor amp Francis
Review of International Political Economy 2014httpdxdoiorg101080096922902014903854
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1 INTRODUCTION
How do state regulations influence the behavior and survival of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Prior research has emphasizedthe non-governmental dimensions of civil society implicitly assumingthat NGOs are largely insulated from states (Wapner 1995) Yet statespowerfully shape patterns of NGO emergence activity and survivalsimilar to statesrsquo influence over other non-state actors They do this inpart by enacting regulations that determine the types of NGOs that cansurvive and prosper ndash their lsquopopulation ecologyrsquo (Hannan and Freeman1977) Such regulatory initiatives are increasingly visible as govern-ments from Russia to Israel debate and promulgate tough new lawsaimed at reconquering political ground ceded during the 1980s and1990s to NGOs
In part this regulatory offensive is being fueled by the lsquoglobal war onterrorrsquo (Howell et al 2008) by concern that states have lost control overtheir borders (Andreas 2001) and a growing tendency on the part ofinternational and local NGOs to challenge governments with rights-based advocacy (Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson andDorsey 2003) The governmental offensive is inadvertently supported bythe dependence of many Southern NGOs on Northern funding whichdisconnects them from local constituencies and allows opponents to por-tray them as foreign agents Foreign funding sometimes leads to the crea-tion of sham or lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo (Hearn 2007) that impose negativereputational externalities on all NGOs (Prakash and Gugerty 2010)North-to-South aid has made Southern NGOs both prominent and vul-nerable presenting a tempting target for attack
We explore this new regulatory offensive in the context of Ethiopia amajor recipient of Northern aid that recently banned overseas funding tolocal NGOs working on human rights democracy elections and ethnicrelations Employing the organization ecology and institutional literatureswe generate propositions about NGO survival and strategies based ontheir foreign resource dependence the political sensitivity of their workand their portfolio complexity Our evidence suggests that Ethiopiarsquos 2009Charities and Societies Proclamation dramatically re-shaped the countryrsquosNGO population Most briefcase NGOs as well as most foreign-aid-dependent human rights groups have disappeared while survivingdomestic NGOs have lsquorebrandedrsquo their activities by abandoning theirexplicit interest in human rights or lsquorestructuredrsquo operations into less sensi-tive domains Although most international NGOs (INGOs) working inEthiopia survived they too rebranded and restructured Our Ethiopianlsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) establishes a case for a new researchagenda which we outline below Liberal NGOs are important transnationaland local actors but so are the forces arrayed against them (Bob 2012)
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Our article proceeds as follows The next section explores the liter-aturersquos treatment of NGO-state relations Section 3 examines the growinganti-NGO global backlash and Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation Section 4outlines our propositions Section 5 presents our methods and data andSection 6 discusses our findings Section 7 concludes with broader impli-cations and avenues for future research
2 MISSING THE STATE OPTIMISTS AND SKEPTICSIN THE NGO LITERATURE
NGOs are often defined by what they are not actors who are not part ofgovernment Indeed many scholars debate how NGOs differ from othercivil society forms such as social movements citizen groups professionalassociations the non-profit sector traditional kinship networks and soforth (Johnson and Prakash 2006 Lewis and Wallace 2000 Vakil 1997)
We view NGOs as formal organizations that are not directly part of gov-ernment or the for-profit sector and which seek to provide services to mar-ginalized groups andor advocate for social or policy change Motivatedby instrumental as well as normative concerns (Sell and Prakash 2004)NGOs secure funds from multiple sources including individual citizensmembership dues foundations governmental grants service delivery andcontracts Importantly NGOs are often legally registered a status thatoffers distinct benefits such as the right (in some cases) to issue tax-deduct-ible receipts It also poses distinct challenges such as exposure to greaterregulatory oversight In most cases NGOs are distinct from traditional civilsociety actors many of which are informal andor unregistered
The number and influence of NGOs grew rapidly in the global Southand former Communist countries after the Cold War with encourage-ment and funding from Northern donors who hoped these groups wouldrepresent local concerns and promote liberal values (Reimann 2006)Foreign assistance donors believed would help consolidate this force forsocial and political reform
The global NGO expansion was accompanied by an optimistic politicalscience literature with various scholars (Keck and Sikkink 1998 Khagramet al 2002 Meyer et al 1977 Risse-Kappen 2005 Wapner 1995) arguingthat communications technology declining transportation costs deepen-ing globalization diffusing norms and networks of principled activistswere constraining state sovereignty and prompting greater citizen partici-pation Like many Northern donors these scholars believed NGOs repre-sented a widespread grassroots desire for liberal values such as humanrights equality and social justice Few of these scholars paid substantialattention to statesrsquo regulatory impacts on NGOs with the exception ofMichael Brattonrsquos work on government-NGO relations in Africa (Bratton1989) Bratton argues that government ideology legitimacy and
3
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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2014
We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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ded
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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of information Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses actionsclaims proceedings demands costs expenses damages and other liabilitieswhatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connectionwith in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content
This article may be used for research teaching and private study purposesAny substantial or systematic reproduction redistribution reselling loan sub-licensing systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expresslyforbidden Terms amp Conditions of access and use can be found at httpwwwtandfonlinecompageterms-and-conditions
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Who survived Ethiopiarsquos regulatorycrackdown on foreign-funded NGOs
Kendra E Dupuy123 James Ron45 andAseem Prakash1
1Department of Political Science University of Washington Seattle USA 2ThePeace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Norway 3Chr Michelsen Institute(CMI) Norway 4Humphrey School for Public Affairs and Department ofPolitical Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis USA 5Center for
Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) Mexico City Mexico
ABSTRACT
How do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Because many NGOs advocateliberal causes such as human rights democracy and gender equality theyupset the political status quo At the same time a large number of NGOsoperating in the Global South rely on international funding Thissometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation ofsham or lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenientNGO sector governments exploit the role of international funding andmake the case for restricting the influence of NGOs that serve as foreignagents To pursue this objective states worldwide are enacting laws torestrict NGOsrsquo access to foreign funding We examine this regulatoryoffensive through an Ethiopian case study where recent legislationprohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitiveissues We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups inEthiopia have disappeared while survivors have either lsquorebrandedrsquo orswitched their work from proscribed areas This research note highlightshow governments can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims ofgrassroots support a reliance on external funding makes them politicallyvulnerable Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as thekey component of NGOsrsquo institutional environment
KEYWORDS
NGOs regulations foreign funding human rights Ethiopia Africa
2014 Taylor amp Francis
Review of International Political Economy 2014httpdxdoiorg101080096922902014903854
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1 INTRODUCTION
How do state regulations influence the behavior and survival of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Prior research has emphasizedthe non-governmental dimensions of civil society implicitly assumingthat NGOs are largely insulated from states (Wapner 1995) Yet statespowerfully shape patterns of NGO emergence activity and survivalsimilar to statesrsquo influence over other non-state actors They do this inpart by enacting regulations that determine the types of NGOs that cansurvive and prosper ndash their lsquopopulation ecologyrsquo (Hannan and Freeman1977) Such regulatory initiatives are increasingly visible as govern-ments from Russia to Israel debate and promulgate tough new lawsaimed at reconquering political ground ceded during the 1980s and1990s to NGOs
In part this regulatory offensive is being fueled by the lsquoglobal war onterrorrsquo (Howell et al 2008) by concern that states have lost control overtheir borders (Andreas 2001) and a growing tendency on the part ofinternational and local NGOs to challenge governments with rights-based advocacy (Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson andDorsey 2003) The governmental offensive is inadvertently supported bythe dependence of many Southern NGOs on Northern funding whichdisconnects them from local constituencies and allows opponents to por-tray them as foreign agents Foreign funding sometimes leads to the crea-tion of sham or lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo (Hearn 2007) that impose negativereputational externalities on all NGOs (Prakash and Gugerty 2010)North-to-South aid has made Southern NGOs both prominent and vul-nerable presenting a tempting target for attack
We explore this new regulatory offensive in the context of Ethiopia amajor recipient of Northern aid that recently banned overseas funding tolocal NGOs working on human rights democracy elections and ethnicrelations Employing the organization ecology and institutional literatureswe generate propositions about NGO survival and strategies based ontheir foreign resource dependence the political sensitivity of their workand their portfolio complexity Our evidence suggests that Ethiopiarsquos 2009Charities and Societies Proclamation dramatically re-shaped the countryrsquosNGO population Most briefcase NGOs as well as most foreign-aid-dependent human rights groups have disappeared while survivingdomestic NGOs have lsquorebrandedrsquo their activities by abandoning theirexplicit interest in human rights or lsquorestructuredrsquo operations into less sensi-tive domains Although most international NGOs (INGOs) working inEthiopia survived they too rebranded and restructured Our Ethiopianlsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) establishes a case for a new researchagenda which we outline below Liberal NGOs are important transnationaland local actors but so are the forces arrayed against them (Bob 2012)
2
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Our article proceeds as follows The next section explores the liter-aturersquos treatment of NGO-state relations Section 3 examines the growinganti-NGO global backlash and Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation Section 4outlines our propositions Section 5 presents our methods and data andSection 6 discusses our findings Section 7 concludes with broader impli-cations and avenues for future research
2 MISSING THE STATE OPTIMISTS AND SKEPTICSIN THE NGO LITERATURE
NGOs are often defined by what they are not actors who are not part ofgovernment Indeed many scholars debate how NGOs differ from othercivil society forms such as social movements citizen groups professionalassociations the non-profit sector traditional kinship networks and soforth (Johnson and Prakash 2006 Lewis and Wallace 2000 Vakil 1997)
We view NGOs as formal organizations that are not directly part of gov-ernment or the for-profit sector and which seek to provide services to mar-ginalized groups andor advocate for social or policy change Motivatedby instrumental as well as normative concerns (Sell and Prakash 2004)NGOs secure funds from multiple sources including individual citizensmembership dues foundations governmental grants service delivery andcontracts Importantly NGOs are often legally registered a status thatoffers distinct benefits such as the right (in some cases) to issue tax-deduct-ible receipts It also poses distinct challenges such as exposure to greaterregulatory oversight In most cases NGOs are distinct from traditional civilsociety actors many of which are informal andor unregistered
The number and influence of NGOs grew rapidly in the global Southand former Communist countries after the Cold War with encourage-ment and funding from Northern donors who hoped these groups wouldrepresent local concerns and promote liberal values (Reimann 2006)Foreign assistance donors believed would help consolidate this force forsocial and political reform
The global NGO expansion was accompanied by an optimistic politicalscience literature with various scholars (Keck and Sikkink 1998 Khagramet al 2002 Meyer et al 1977 Risse-Kappen 2005 Wapner 1995) arguingthat communications technology declining transportation costs deepen-ing globalization diffusing norms and networks of principled activistswere constraining state sovereignty and prompting greater citizen partici-pation Like many Northern donors these scholars believed NGOs repre-sented a widespread grassroots desire for liberal values such as humanrights equality and social justice Few of these scholars paid substantialattention to statesrsquo regulatory impacts on NGOs with the exception ofMichael Brattonrsquos work on government-NGO relations in Africa (Bratton1989) Bratton argues that government ideology legitimacy and
3
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
4
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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pril
2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
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2 A
pril
2014
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Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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nloa
ded
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ity o
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ashi
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Who survived Ethiopiarsquos regulatorycrackdown on foreign-funded NGOs
Kendra E Dupuy123 James Ron45 andAseem Prakash1
1Department of Political Science University of Washington Seattle USA 2ThePeace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Norway 3Chr Michelsen Institute(CMI) Norway 4Humphrey School for Public Affairs and Department ofPolitical Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis USA 5Center for
Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) Mexico City Mexico
ABSTRACT
How do public regulations shape the composition and behavior of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Because many NGOs advocateliberal causes such as human rights democracy and gender equality theyupset the political status quo At the same time a large number of NGOsoperating in the Global South rely on international funding Thissometimes disconnects from local publics and leads to the proliferation ofsham or lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs Seeking to rein in the politically inconvenientNGO sector governments exploit the role of international funding andmake the case for restricting the influence of NGOs that serve as foreignagents To pursue this objective states worldwide are enacting laws torestrict NGOsrsquo access to foreign funding We examine this regulatoryoffensive through an Ethiopian case study where recent legislationprohibits foreign-funded NGOs from working on politically sensitiveissues We find that most briefcase NGOs and local human rights groups inEthiopia have disappeared while survivors have either lsquorebrandedrsquo orswitched their work from proscribed areas This research note highlightshow governments can and do shape the population ecology of the non-governmental sector Because NGOs seek legitimacy via their claims ofgrassroots support a reliance on external funding makes them politicallyvulnerable Any study of the NGO sector must include governments as thekey component of NGOsrsquo institutional environment
KEYWORDS
NGOs regulations foreign funding human rights Ethiopia Africa
2014 Taylor amp Francis
Review of International Political Economy 2014httpdxdoiorg101080096922902014903854
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1 INTRODUCTION
How do state regulations influence the behavior and survival of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Prior research has emphasizedthe non-governmental dimensions of civil society implicitly assumingthat NGOs are largely insulated from states (Wapner 1995) Yet statespowerfully shape patterns of NGO emergence activity and survivalsimilar to statesrsquo influence over other non-state actors They do this inpart by enacting regulations that determine the types of NGOs that cansurvive and prosper ndash their lsquopopulation ecologyrsquo (Hannan and Freeman1977) Such regulatory initiatives are increasingly visible as govern-ments from Russia to Israel debate and promulgate tough new lawsaimed at reconquering political ground ceded during the 1980s and1990s to NGOs
In part this regulatory offensive is being fueled by the lsquoglobal war onterrorrsquo (Howell et al 2008) by concern that states have lost control overtheir borders (Andreas 2001) and a growing tendency on the part ofinternational and local NGOs to challenge governments with rights-based advocacy (Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson andDorsey 2003) The governmental offensive is inadvertently supported bythe dependence of many Southern NGOs on Northern funding whichdisconnects them from local constituencies and allows opponents to por-tray them as foreign agents Foreign funding sometimes leads to the crea-tion of sham or lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo (Hearn 2007) that impose negativereputational externalities on all NGOs (Prakash and Gugerty 2010)North-to-South aid has made Southern NGOs both prominent and vul-nerable presenting a tempting target for attack
We explore this new regulatory offensive in the context of Ethiopia amajor recipient of Northern aid that recently banned overseas funding tolocal NGOs working on human rights democracy elections and ethnicrelations Employing the organization ecology and institutional literatureswe generate propositions about NGO survival and strategies based ontheir foreign resource dependence the political sensitivity of their workand their portfolio complexity Our evidence suggests that Ethiopiarsquos 2009Charities and Societies Proclamation dramatically re-shaped the countryrsquosNGO population Most briefcase NGOs as well as most foreign-aid-dependent human rights groups have disappeared while survivingdomestic NGOs have lsquorebrandedrsquo their activities by abandoning theirexplicit interest in human rights or lsquorestructuredrsquo operations into less sensi-tive domains Although most international NGOs (INGOs) working inEthiopia survived they too rebranded and restructured Our Ethiopianlsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) establishes a case for a new researchagenda which we outline below Liberal NGOs are important transnationaland local actors but so are the forces arrayed against them (Bob 2012)
2
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Our article proceeds as follows The next section explores the liter-aturersquos treatment of NGO-state relations Section 3 examines the growinganti-NGO global backlash and Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation Section 4outlines our propositions Section 5 presents our methods and data andSection 6 discusses our findings Section 7 concludes with broader impli-cations and avenues for future research
2 MISSING THE STATE OPTIMISTS AND SKEPTICSIN THE NGO LITERATURE
NGOs are often defined by what they are not actors who are not part ofgovernment Indeed many scholars debate how NGOs differ from othercivil society forms such as social movements citizen groups professionalassociations the non-profit sector traditional kinship networks and soforth (Johnson and Prakash 2006 Lewis and Wallace 2000 Vakil 1997)
We view NGOs as formal organizations that are not directly part of gov-ernment or the for-profit sector and which seek to provide services to mar-ginalized groups andor advocate for social or policy change Motivatedby instrumental as well as normative concerns (Sell and Prakash 2004)NGOs secure funds from multiple sources including individual citizensmembership dues foundations governmental grants service delivery andcontracts Importantly NGOs are often legally registered a status thatoffers distinct benefits such as the right (in some cases) to issue tax-deduct-ible receipts It also poses distinct challenges such as exposure to greaterregulatory oversight In most cases NGOs are distinct from traditional civilsociety actors many of which are informal andor unregistered
The number and influence of NGOs grew rapidly in the global Southand former Communist countries after the Cold War with encourage-ment and funding from Northern donors who hoped these groups wouldrepresent local concerns and promote liberal values (Reimann 2006)Foreign assistance donors believed would help consolidate this force forsocial and political reform
The global NGO expansion was accompanied by an optimistic politicalscience literature with various scholars (Keck and Sikkink 1998 Khagramet al 2002 Meyer et al 1977 Risse-Kappen 2005 Wapner 1995) arguingthat communications technology declining transportation costs deepen-ing globalization diffusing norms and networks of principled activistswere constraining state sovereignty and prompting greater citizen partici-pation Like many Northern donors these scholars believed NGOs repre-sented a widespread grassroots desire for liberal values such as humanrights equality and social justice Few of these scholars paid substantialattention to statesrsquo regulatory impacts on NGOs with the exception ofMichael Brattonrsquos work on government-NGO relations in Africa (Bratton1989) Bratton argues that government ideology legitimacy and
3
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
4
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
17
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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vers
ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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2014
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Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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1 INTRODUCTION
How do state regulations influence the behavior and survival of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Prior research has emphasizedthe non-governmental dimensions of civil society implicitly assumingthat NGOs are largely insulated from states (Wapner 1995) Yet statespowerfully shape patterns of NGO emergence activity and survivalsimilar to statesrsquo influence over other non-state actors They do this inpart by enacting regulations that determine the types of NGOs that cansurvive and prosper ndash their lsquopopulation ecologyrsquo (Hannan and Freeman1977) Such regulatory initiatives are increasingly visible as govern-ments from Russia to Israel debate and promulgate tough new lawsaimed at reconquering political ground ceded during the 1980s and1990s to NGOs
In part this regulatory offensive is being fueled by the lsquoglobal war onterrorrsquo (Howell et al 2008) by concern that states have lost control overtheir borders (Andreas 2001) and a growing tendency on the part ofinternational and local NGOs to challenge governments with rights-based advocacy (Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson andDorsey 2003) The governmental offensive is inadvertently supported bythe dependence of many Southern NGOs on Northern funding whichdisconnects them from local constituencies and allows opponents to por-tray them as foreign agents Foreign funding sometimes leads to the crea-tion of sham or lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo (Hearn 2007) that impose negativereputational externalities on all NGOs (Prakash and Gugerty 2010)North-to-South aid has made Southern NGOs both prominent and vul-nerable presenting a tempting target for attack
We explore this new regulatory offensive in the context of Ethiopia amajor recipient of Northern aid that recently banned overseas funding tolocal NGOs working on human rights democracy elections and ethnicrelations Employing the organization ecology and institutional literatureswe generate propositions about NGO survival and strategies based ontheir foreign resource dependence the political sensitivity of their workand their portfolio complexity Our evidence suggests that Ethiopiarsquos 2009Charities and Societies Proclamation dramatically re-shaped the countryrsquosNGO population Most briefcase NGOs as well as most foreign-aid-dependent human rights groups have disappeared while survivingdomestic NGOs have lsquorebrandedrsquo their activities by abandoning theirexplicit interest in human rights or lsquorestructuredrsquo operations into less sensi-tive domains Although most international NGOs (INGOs) working inEthiopia survived they too rebranded and restructured Our Ethiopianlsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) establishes a case for a new researchagenda which we outline below Liberal NGOs are important transnationaland local actors but so are the forces arrayed against them (Bob 2012)
2
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Our article proceeds as follows The next section explores the liter-aturersquos treatment of NGO-state relations Section 3 examines the growinganti-NGO global backlash and Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation Section 4outlines our propositions Section 5 presents our methods and data andSection 6 discusses our findings Section 7 concludes with broader impli-cations and avenues for future research
2 MISSING THE STATE OPTIMISTS AND SKEPTICSIN THE NGO LITERATURE
NGOs are often defined by what they are not actors who are not part ofgovernment Indeed many scholars debate how NGOs differ from othercivil society forms such as social movements citizen groups professionalassociations the non-profit sector traditional kinship networks and soforth (Johnson and Prakash 2006 Lewis and Wallace 2000 Vakil 1997)
We view NGOs as formal organizations that are not directly part of gov-ernment or the for-profit sector and which seek to provide services to mar-ginalized groups andor advocate for social or policy change Motivatedby instrumental as well as normative concerns (Sell and Prakash 2004)NGOs secure funds from multiple sources including individual citizensmembership dues foundations governmental grants service delivery andcontracts Importantly NGOs are often legally registered a status thatoffers distinct benefits such as the right (in some cases) to issue tax-deduct-ible receipts It also poses distinct challenges such as exposure to greaterregulatory oversight In most cases NGOs are distinct from traditional civilsociety actors many of which are informal andor unregistered
The number and influence of NGOs grew rapidly in the global Southand former Communist countries after the Cold War with encourage-ment and funding from Northern donors who hoped these groups wouldrepresent local concerns and promote liberal values (Reimann 2006)Foreign assistance donors believed would help consolidate this force forsocial and political reform
The global NGO expansion was accompanied by an optimistic politicalscience literature with various scholars (Keck and Sikkink 1998 Khagramet al 2002 Meyer et al 1977 Risse-Kappen 2005 Wapner 1995) arguingthat communications technology declining transportation costs deepen-ing globalization diffusing norms and networks of principled activistswere constraining state sovereignty and prompting greater citizen partici-pation Like many Northern donors these scholars believed NGOs repre-sented a widespread grassroots desire for liberal values such as humanrights equality and social justice Few of these scholars paid substantialattention to statesrsquo regulatory impacts on NGOs with the exception ofMichael Brattonrsquos work on government-NGO relations in Africa (Bratton1989) Bratton argues that government ideology legitimacy and
3
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
4
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
17
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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vers
ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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2014
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Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Our article proceeds as follows The next section explores the liter-aturersquos treatment of NGO-state relations Section 3 examines the growinganti-NGO global backlash and Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation Section 4outlines our propositions Section 5 presents our methods and data andSection 6 discusses our findings Section 7 concludes with broader impli-cations and avenues for future research
2 MISSING THE STATE OPTIMISTS AND SKEPTICSIN THE NGO LITERATURE
NGOs are often defined by what they are not actors who are not part ofgovernment Indeed many scholars debate how NGOs differ from othercivil society forms such as social movements citizen groups professionalassociations the non-profit sector traditional kinship networks and soforth (Johnson and Prakash 2006 Lewis and Wallace 2000 Vakil 1997)
We view NGOs as formal organizations that are not directly part of gov-ernment or the for-profit sector and which seek to provide services to mar-ginalized groups andor advocate for social or policy change Motivatedby instrumental as well as normative concerns (Sell and Prakash 2004)NGOs secure funds from multiple sources including individual citizensmembership dues foundations governmental grants service delivery andcontracts Importantly NGOs are often legally registered a status thatoffers distinct benefits such as the right (in some cases) to issue tax-deduct-ible receipts It also poses distinct challenges such as exposure to greaterregulatory oversight In most cases NGOs are distinct from traditional civilsociety actors many of which are informal andor unregistered
The number and influence of NGOs grew rapidly in the global Southand former Communist countries after the Cold War with encourage-ment and funding from Northern donors who hoped these groups wouldrepresent local concerns and promote liberal values (Reimann 2006)Foreign assistance donors believed would help consolidate this force forsocial and political reform
The global NGO expansion was accompanied by an optimistic politicalscience literature with various scholars (Keck and Sikkink 1998 Khagramet al 2002 Meyer et al 1977 Risse-Kappen 2005 Wapner 1995) arguingthat communications technology declining transportation costs deepen-ing globalization diffusing norms and networks of principled activistswere constraining state sovereignty and prompting greater citizen partici-pation Like many Northern donors these scholars believed NGOs repre-sented a widespread grassroots desire for liberal values such as humanrights equality and social justice Few of these scholars paid substantialattention to statesrsquo regulatory impacts on NGOs with the exception ofMichael Brattonrsquos work on government-NGO relations in Africa (Bratton1989) Bratton argues that government ideology legitimacy and
3
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
4
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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] at
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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ded
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09
44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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Uni
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ity o
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
f W
ashi
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
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Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
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Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
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Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
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Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
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nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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44 2
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pril
2014
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Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
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Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
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Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
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pril
2014
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Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
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Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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pril
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Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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administrative capacity shape governmentndashNGO interactions with strongdemocratic regimes more likely to welcome NGOs than military regimesStates employ different regulatory measures to enforce control over theNGO sector such as monitoring coordination cooptation and dissolu-tion and in turn NGOs respond to these measures by working aroundgovernments to maintain their autonomy engaging in selective collabora-tion with the government or carrying out policy advocacy
A more skeptical NGO literature also emerged in the 1990s locatedlargely in disciplines such as development studies and anthropology Itwarned that foreign aid to NGOs was having unanticipated perniciouseffects and that all was not well in the global NGO sector Most worry-ing foreign aid promoted lsquobriefcasersquo NGOs and rendered even bona fidelocal groups dependent on foreign assistance (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Bob 2005 Carpenter 2007 Edwards and Hulme 1996Hearn 2007) Aid could also deepen inequalities between NGO workersand the surrounding population (Uvin 1998) and between internation-ally connected NGOs and those with fewer ties (Barr Fafchamps andOwens 2005 Chahim and Prakash 2014 Stiles 2002) Aid gave localNGOs insufficient incentives to vigorously represent local concerns raiselocal funding (Chandhoke 2002 Townsend Porter and Mawdsley2002) or be transparent (Barr Fafchamps and Owens 2005 Burger andOwens 2010) Foreign funded groups were self-aggrandizing (Englund2006 Petras 1999 Uvin 1998) and in some cases a threat to popularsocial movements (Hammami 1995 Manji and OrsquoCoill 2002 Petras1999 Stiles 2002) and local charities (Fafchamps and Owens 2009)
Both optimists and skeptics underestimated statesrsquo continuing powerand influence over formal civil society however Whereas the optimistsoverstated the statersquos decline skeptics focused too narrowly on the nega-tive effects of international money In contrast this article brings the stateback in arguing that states both mediate transnational flows (Krasner1995) and shape NGOsrsquo institutional environments They enact andenforce the rules under which NGOs emerge operate use resources andsurvive govern NGOsrsquo physical access to territories and populations andgrant NGOs permission to operate in specific issue areas (BloodgoodTremblay-Boire and Prakash forthcoming Bratton 1989 Henderson 2011Jalali 2008) High capacity states have the most regulatory impact buteven the feeblest of governments can disrupt NGO operations Thus whileNGOs may be nongovernmental they are in no way lsquobeyondrsquo the state(Wapner 1995)
3 THE GLOBAL BACKLASH
The capacity and desire of states to regulate NGOs has become increas-ingly apparent Nearly half of the worldrsquos states ndash 86 of 195 countries or
4
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44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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Uni
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ity o
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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34
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ded
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ity o
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44 2
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ded
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
44 ndash have passed more restrictive NGO laws since 1955 most of which(69) appeared after the Cold War (Figure 1) while 20 additional countriesare debating new restrictions1 As Table 1 suggests the regulatory crack-down is occurring in democracies hybrid regimes (partially democraticstates) and in autocracies and stands in stark contrast to internationalefforts during the 1980s and 1990s to create more liberal NGO laws (Beck-mann 1991 Cernea 1988 Reimann 2006) States have come to keenlyappreciate the symbolic and political threat of NGO lsquoboomerang politicsrsquo(Keck and Sikkink 1998)2 and many are trying to disrupt those links asbest they can
Russia and Egypt are perhaps the most famous examples of countrieswhere restrictive NGO legislation has been adopted A 2012 Russian law
Figure 1 Between 1955 and 1994 17 out of 195 countries passed more restrictivelaws regarding the operations of foreign NGOs and foreign funding flowsBetween 1995 and 2012 69 additional countries worldwide did so Currently44 of countries (86 of 195) worldwide have adopted legislation that specificallyrestricts foreign NGOs andor foreign funding flows
5
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
13
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
17
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
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ries
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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requires NGOs to register with the government prior to receiving foreignfunding from government-approved funding sources if they intend toengage in political activities such NGOs are labeled as lsquoforeign agentsrsquoand they must display this label on their publications Egyptian NGOsmust have government approval to join or be affiliated with a foreignorganization and like their Russian counterparts can receive foreignfunding only with government approval
Restrictive NGO legislation is being adopted in other less obvious pla-ces such as Israel Legislators there passed a new law in early 2011 thatimposes heavy reporting obligations on NGOs receiving foreign fundsand have initiated a suite of more restrictive laws that if passed will dra-matically curb overall flows of foreign funding to Israeli NGOs (Bronner2011 Kershner 2010) In December 2013 the Kenyan Parliament nar-rowly avoided the adoption of Ethiopian-style legislation that wouldhave limited foreign funding to 15 of NGO budgets this legislationwas largely designed to silence criticism about the role of key politiciansin the disastrous election violence of 2007 (Migiro 2013)
31 Ethiopian Civil Society
Historically Ethiopian civil society has been smaller and less diverse thanelsewhere in Africa and has been marked by adversarial state-society rela-tions (Clark 2000 Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw 2010) There were noformal NGOs in Ethiopia until the famines of the 1970s and the 1980swhich forced the government to accept outside assistance Today the Ethi-opian civil society sector is bifurcated between government-aligned com-munity organizations which includes mass-based organizations as well asreligious and interest groups and independent organizations (NGOs andadvocacy organizations) (Rahmato 2002) Most of the independent Ethio-pian NGOs are not rooted in local communities and are instead viewedas foreign rather than indigenous entities (Vaughn and Tronvoll 2003)
Table 1 Restrictive NGO law adoption across regime types 1955ndash2012 Regimetype measured by Polity2 score in the Polity IV Political Regime Characteristicsand Transitions dataset which has annual cross-national time-series data onregime types 1800ndash2011 Data based on average Polity2 scores for 1990-2000
collapsing lsquodemocracyrsquo and lsquofull democracyrsquo into one category
Laws PassedRegime Type No new law adopted New law adopted
Autocracy (score 0 to 4) 11 13Closed Anocracy (score 5 to 10) 15 23Open Anocracy (score 11 to 15) 19 10Democracy (score 16 to 20) 48 17
6
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2014
oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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vers
ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ded
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vers
ity o
f W
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44 2
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pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ity o
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ngto
n L
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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StatendashNGO relations warmed in the 1990s following the EthiopianPeoplersquos Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) rise to power and theconsequent period of political liberalization The EPRDF was initiallysuspicious of independent groups as they were perceived as beingpotential challengers to the new governmentrsquos authority and the partyencouraged the formation of government-aligned mass-based NGOsformed by ruling elites (Rahmato 2010) Yet statendashcivil society relationsimproved as the government gradually allowed civil society to expandtowards the end of the 1990s when the government needed assistancewith relief in the aftermath of the Eritrean war for independence3 Conse-quently along with growing Northern aid flows the number of activeEthiopia-based NGOs grew exponentially from 70 in 1994 to 368 in 2000and to 2275 in 2009 During this time formal advocacy groups made theirfirst appearance in the country
However in 2005 statendashNGO relations again soured in the wake ofEthiopiarsquos contested national elections To the dismay (and perhaps sur-prise) of the EPRDF opposition parties won many votes and electoraldisputes triggered large-scale protests some of which turned violent(Arriola 2013) The government cracked down accusing civil society ofsupporting both the opposition and the violence4 It then promulgated aseries of new anti-democratic laws including the 2009 Proclamation forthe Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies the 2008 MassMedia and Freedom of Information Proclamation the 2008 Political Par-ties Registration Proclamation and the 2009 Anti-Terrorism LawTogether these laws provided the government with tools to focus itsrepression raise the costs of dissent and punish the opposition
Government ideology supports restrictive legislation The ERPDFclaims it is one of the countryrsquos only selfless actors arguing that it alonecan deliver the economic growth necessary for democracy5 The partydistinguishes its own activities from those of officials in lsquorentier statesrsquowho abuse their positions for personal gain The party criticizes NGOs asopportunists using foreign money for inflated salaries and unnecessaryexpenses Echoing the work of the scholarly NGO skeptics the ERPDFsays NGOs lack popular support promote foreign agendas (particularlyneo-liberal ones) and are otherwise inauthentic undemocratic unac-countable or locally illegitimate6 Only the state can bring about sustain-able development and improve the peoplersquos lives by sharing the benefitsof economic growth and all other opportunistic actors must be broughtunder the control of the state Thus only civil society groups establishedcontrolled and funded by Ethiopians the ERPDF argues should beallowed to advocate locally for Ethiopian political and human rights(CCRDA 2011a Hailegebriel 2010)
To fulfill this vision Ethiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation established barriersto NGO entry determined permissible issue areas and activities dictated
7
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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vers
ity o
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] at
09
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pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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] at
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44 2
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pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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organizational structures and announced new NGO monitoring mecha-nisms Most importantly it re-classified NGOs working in Ethiopia intothree categories7
Type 1 Ethiopian charities and societies have Ethiopian citizen membersand administrators as well as budgets that are at least 90locally sourced
Type 2 Ethiopian resident charities and societies have members residing inEthiopia but have budgets composed of over 10 in foreign-sourced money
Type 3 Foreign charities and societies are formed under foreign lawsemploy foreign staff are controlled by foreign nationals andreceive substantial overseas funds
Type 3 groups in other words are international NGOs (INGOs) work-ing in Ethiopia
As of 2010 Type 1 NGOs were the only ones permitted to work onhuman rights democracy national equality nationalities gender reli-gion the rights of children and the disabled conflict resolution and rec-onciliation justice and law enforcement elections and democratizationWhen these NGOs re-registered in 2010 moreover they were prohibitedfrom holding more than 50000 Birr (approximately $2700) deprivingthem of any previously acquired resources The Proclamation also speci-fied that NGOs in all three categories could not spend more than 30 oftheir budget on administration could not receive anonymous donationsand must register every three years with the official Charities and Socie-ties Agency (CSA) Finally it established that NGOs must establish alegal personality submit yearly financial audits and budget reports andprovide the CSA with advance notice of general assembly meetings
The Ethiopian state thus adopted an lsquoNGO import substitution modelrsquo(Henderson 2011) driving a wedge between foreign groups and monieson the one hand and domestic NGOs and political activities on the otherAnd while the ERPDF may have drawn on the insights of skeptical NGOscholars its policies were undoubtedly more drastic than anything mostcritics would recommend The ERPDFrsquos real intention after all was to shutdown political opposition rather than to create a more vibrant civil society
4 TESTABLE PROPOSITIONS
Our study draws theoretical inspiration from several scholarly litera-tures Most generally we draw on population ecologists who argue thatexternal environments shape organizational populationsrsquo size and com-position through processes of selection (Aldrich 2008 Hannan andFreeman 1977) We draw further inspiration from resource mobilizationscholars studying social movement who argue that resource availability
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
9
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
13
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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09
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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pril
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ries
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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rather than shared grievances explains the birth survival and death ofprotest groups (Jenkins 1983 McCarthy and Wolfson 1996 McCarthyand Zald 1977) Together these theories would predict major changes inthe composition of the NGO sector following major shifts in the fundingregulatory environment
We also draw on theories discussing the creation of lsquonichersquo rather thanlsquogeneralistrsquo organizations (Baum and Singh 1994 Freeman and Hannan1983 Hannan and Freeman 1977) The former organizational theoristssay are vulnerable when their issue-area suddenly disappears trans-forming a previously successful resource strategy into a liability Nicheorganizations are typically established when the funding environmentrsquosresources are lsquopartitionedrsquo into limited-access sub-sections (Baum andSingh 1994 Gray and Lowery 1996) Niche resources go to niche organi-zations cutting the generalists out of the picture If the niche ecosystemdisappears however its organizational population is also likely to die(Baum 1999 Carroll 1984 Galaskiewicz and Bielefeld 1998 Hannanand Freeman 1977)
Northern aid to Southern societies has created two key resource parti-tions The first divides traditional civil society ndash consisting of religiousorganizations labor and savings groups and ethnic associations ndash fromthe modern sector of formal professional and liberal NGOs (Chahimand Prakash 2014) Resources flowing to the traditional sector are notavailable to modern NGOs and vice versa The second partition dividesgeneralist NGOs such as those doing a broad variety of developmentactivities from specialist or lsquonichersquo NGOs such as those focusinguniquely on human rights
We also make use of institutional theoryrsquos notion of lsquoisomorphismrsquo(Powell and DiMaggio 1991) which expects weaker organizations tocopy the structures and working styles of more powerful and legitimategroups Isomorphic pressure is particularly acute in the development sec-tor where formally constituted Southern NGOs depend heavily onNorthern aid Since many Northern social interest groups are profes-sionally managed non-profits (Skocpol 2007) Southern NGOs have fol-lowed suit seeking legitimacy in donorsrsquo eyes This has boostedSouthern NGOsrsquo ability to attract Northern funds but reduced their abil-ity to mobilize mass constituencies
Cumulatively these theories prompt us to expect that state restrictionson foreign aid to local NGOs will lead to high mortality among the brief-case population as well as for niche groups working in newly proscribedareas Generalist and international NGOs by contrast should prove resil-ient given their ability to adapt to the new institutional environment Weexplore the logic of these claims below
Briefcase NGOs emerge and proliferate in environments marked byplentiful donor funding low barriers to NGO entry and weak state
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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vers
ity o
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] at
09
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pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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] at
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44 2
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pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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oversight (Hearn 2007) In Uganda for example surveyors discoveredthat 75 of government-registered groups in Kampala existed only onpaper (Barr Fafchamps and Owen 2004) When states enhance oversightand demand more information however briefcase groups are likely toevaporate as their operators should be loath to risk penalty or bedeterred by the effort of new reporting Likely exceptions are briefcasegroups created by persons close to the regime
Local lsquonichersquo groups working on proscribed issues are also vulnerable espe-cially if dependent on foreign aid This is especially true in the humanrights sector where donor monies increased following the rights-basedturn in development assistance (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004Kindornay Ron and Carpenter 2012 Nelson and Dorsey 2003 Uvin2004) Recent studies have found high rates of Southern NGO depen-dency on Northern funding in the Israeli (Berkovitch and Gordon 2008)Malawi (Englund 2006) and Nigerian (Okafor 2006) human rightssectors8
Not all human rights NGOs are lsquonichersquo groups of course since manyare lsquorights-basedrsquo generalists working on a wide range of developmentissues If human rights work is outlawed the generalistsrsquo broader pro-gram portfolios will offer them greater flexibility and protection
International NGOs (INGOs) are likely to prove resilient when theycombine programs in proscribed areas with service delivery in non-pro-scribed areas After all even the most anti-NGO of governments will beloath to lose INGO-supplied or funded services and INGOs are typicallykeen to remain so as to better help the needy attract more funding andenhance their credibility (Bob 2005 Cooley and Ron 2002)
41 Survival strategies
The organization ecology literature expects groups to respond to regula-tory change by minimizing avoiding or trying to defeat new rules(Hillman Withers and Collins 2009 Pfeffer and Salancik 2003 SinghHouse and Tucker 1986) Survival strategies can involve attempts tochange the organization (internal transformation) the environment(external transformation) or both These include complying with someor all of the new rules delaying or sequencing compliance co-opting theconstraintrsquos source or trying to alter its nature evading scrutiny alteringthe organizationrsquos internal structure or merging with other organizationsless affected by the rules Organizations in other words can fly under theradar and try to evade the new rules roll back the new rules throughmedia work political advocacy and other forms of lobbying or changethemselves Naturally organizations differ in their willingness andcapacity to adopt any one of these strategies
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
21
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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vers
ity o
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ries
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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36
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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411 Internally-focused strategies
As noted above complex multiple-issue lsquogeneralistrsquo NGOs working inseveral issue areas including both proscribed (such as human rights)and permitted topics (such as development) should prove more resilientthan single-issue lsquonichersquo groups Generalist NGOs can engage more eas-ily in two key survival strategies rebranding and restructuring
The least costly NGO strategy is the rebranding of newly stigmatizedactivities as something less threatening Restructuring by contrastinvolves real change including cutting newly prohibited work and part-ners and re-allocating those resources to other less contentious areasBoth strategies are likely to be easier for multiple-issue generalists sincesingle-issue niche groups have no activities in other domains to use asrhetorical cover when rebranding or to re-focus on when restructuring
412 Externally focused survival strategies
NGOs may also try to alter their political and institutional environmentby seeking to roll back the new rules One method of doing this is mobi-lizing assistance from international donors allies and the media Thislsquoboomerangrsquo strategy (Keck and Sikkink 1998) involves the naming andshaming efforts that INGOs are justly famous for (Hafner-Burton 2008Krain 2012 Murdie and Davis 2012 Ron Ramos and Rodgers 2005)Given that the international media is likely to regard state restrictions onforeign aid as newsworthy (Ramos Ron and Thoms 2007) both INGOand local NGO lobbying will attract attention The boomerangrsquos actualsuccess however depends on the balance of domestic and internationalforces
Transnational boomerangs will be more successful when local acti-vists enjoy broad local support especially when that support is artic-ulated through mass and peaceful demonstrations (Bob 2005) Localmobilization can boost local NGOsrsquo credibility with INGOs and otherinternational audiences and allow INGOs to portray their advocacyon behalf of threatened local activists articulating local demands Yetwhile Southern NGOs are likely to excel at mobilizing internationalallies they are likely to have a harder time mobilizing large numbersof local supporters This is especially true in donor-saturated environ-ments where foreign funds have drawn Southern groups closer totheir Northern supporters
Finally local NGOs may try to alter their resource environment byreplacing foreign monies with local revenue Like mass constituencybuilding however local fund raising takes time skill and effort all ofwhich are likely in short supply following a government crackdownGroups dependent on foreign aid moreover are not likely to have built
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
11
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2014
up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
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To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
13
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
16
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
17
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ded
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vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
up the necessary local fund-raising contacts skills and resources giventhat the easy availability of foreign aid provides NGOs with few incen-tives to mobilize lower-yielding local resources
To summarize we expect new state-imposed restrictions on NGO reg-istration on foreign funding flows to local NGOs and on politically sen-sitive activities to have the following effects
Proposition 1 Briefcase NGOs in all domains will experience highmortality
Proposition 2 Local NGOs focused on proscribed domains anddependent on foreign resources will experiencehigh mortality This is especially likely when localgroups are single-issue niche specialists rather thanmultiple-issue generalists
Proposition 3 INGOs will experience low mortality
Proposition 4 Surviving NGOs will have rebranded or restruc-tured their activities
5 DATA AND METHODS
We focus on recent events in Ethiopia for several reasons First Ethiopianconditions are representative of global civil society trends As Figure 1demonstrated states are increasingly restricting foreign inflows todomestic NGOs or imposing new constraints on INGOs working locallyEthiopiarsquos 2009 Proclamation resembles other countriesrsquo new laws bothAfrican and otherwise especially in its restrictions on human rightswork Governments have imposed comparable restrictions in EgyptAlgeria Eritrea Somaliland and Russia among others
Second Ethiopia offers a unique real-time opportunity to study theeffects of regulatory shifts The Proclamationrsquos 2010 implementationand our summer 2011 research allowed us to track policy changewhile holding place and national culture constant (Gerring andMcDermott 2007) Nevertheless we recognize that the immediacy ofevents imposes research limitations A rigorous test of our claimsrequires representative sampling of the countryrsquos NGO populationbut this effort is neither feasible nor ethical given repression govern-ment and NGO anxieties and intense civil society politicizationIndeed it is hard to imagine any country where the comprehensivecollection of NGO data would be ethical and feasible so soon after amajor crackdown
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
13
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2014
strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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Uni
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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] at
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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ded
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ity o
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44 2
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2 A
pril
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
To study the real-time effects of regulatory change we conducted alsquoplausibility probersquo (Eckstein 1975) with theoretically generated hypothe-ses and preliminary data collection To do this our lead author traveledto Ethiopia in summer 2011 for low-profile fieldwork including 27 pri-vate and semi-structured key informant interviews This author also col-lected pertinent documents with limited international availability andspoke with international advocacy organizations via telephone (seeAppendix 1 for details)
We identified informants through background research on the Procla-mation as well as through contacts established in Ethiopia when politi-cians were debating the new rules We made subsequent contactsthrough snowball the sampling (Biernacki and Waldorf 1981ndash82) initiat-ing six different referral chains that produced 17 informants who thenidentified our ten remaining informants as especially knowledgeableindividuals9
Given the political sensitivities we chose an experienced fieldresearcher with Ethiopian research experience They ensured beforehandthat the proposed research was not overly risky exercised discretion inthe field and orally obtained consent from participants making clearthey could withdraw from the interview at any time10 To safeguard con-fidentially we provide no names or identifying details We believe theresearch was worth any remaining risk to informants due to its importantpolicy implications Civil society globally is under pressure in part dueto international aid Researchers must learn more about the local effectsof international money so that they can offer plausible insights to theNGO policy community Indeed it seems ethically inappropriate torefrain from urgent policy-relevant research due to political limitationson systematic sampling
Our study thus has methodological limitations Safety restrictions lim-ited our inquiry to Addis Ababa and non-probability sampling Weattempted to minimize these problems through maximum variation sam-pling within the capital (eg choosing informants from multiple sectorsand organizational types) and by focusing on information-rich keyinformants11 We are confident that our interviews when combined withthe existing literature and documents collected locally offer sufficientevidence for a plausibility probe
6 FINDINGS
Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector changed dramatically following the 2010 imple-mentation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation Many briefcaseand single-issue human rights groups closed down while INGOs andmultiple-issue local NGOs largely survived although many havechanged their activities Some adopted internally-focused survival
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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ded
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
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Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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strategies by rebranding existing proscribed activities ndash including humanrights ndash as lsquodevelopmentrsquo or lsquoservice provisionrsquo Others restructured theirportfolios to focus on less contentious concerns Some human rightsgroups turned to externally focused strategies and successfully mobilizedinternational allies but few could mobilize substantial local supportWhile international allies did their best the transnational lsquoboomerangrsquofailed to change Ethiopian policy
Table 2 provides a broad overview of Ethiopiarsquos NGO sector beforeand after the 2010 Proclamation These data point to potentially highorganizational mortality as a result of the Proclamation in that the num-ber of federally registered local and international NGOs dropped by 45from 3800 in 2009 to 2059 in 201112 Mortality was highest among localNGOs Table 1rsquos first row dropped 25 from 2275 in 2009 ndash a numberthat includes both advocacy organizations and professional associations ndashto 1701 in late 2011 INGO numbers by contrast dropped very littlemoving from 266 in 2009 to 262 in 2011 The number of adoption agen-cies decreased by 17 whereas the number of umbrella organizationsincreased by 22 due largely to the Proclamationrsquos prohibition on NGOsof different types joining the same consortium In total 1741 previouslyregistered groups failed to re-register with the official Charities and Soci-eties Agency
Table 2 Numbers of registered organizations per category pre- and post-proclamation
2009 2011
Total number of local NGOs frac14 2275Consisting of
2000 local NGOs in varioussectors
150 professional organizations 125 civic advocacy organizations
Total number of local NGOs frac14 1701Consisting of
Ethiopian charities (includeshuman rights organizations) 110
Ethiopian societies (includesprofessional and mass-basedassociations) 261
Ethiopian resident charities(includes former civic advocacy(ie human rights) organizations)1270
Ethiopian resident societies 60 International NGOs (INGOs) 266 International NGOs (INGOs) 262 Adoption agencies 45 Adoption agencies 62 Consortium 12 Consortium 343800 organizations total (estimated
including regionally and federallyregistered organization religiousgroups and cultural associations)
2059 organizations total registered atthe federal level
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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ashi
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2014
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Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
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Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
f W
ashi
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ibra
ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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nloa
ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
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2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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61 Who died who survived
611 The rapid death of Ethiopiarsquos lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo
Eleven respondents from non-governmental and governmental agenciessaid that most terminated organizations were lsquobriefcase NGOsrsquo whichfirst appeared in Ethiopia lsquobecause of the [earlier] NGO bonanza whenpeople would establish an NGO and try to get money for it and if theydid they would set up shoprsquo13 This analysis is supported by the avail-able aid data which indicates that Ethiopia has been the largest Africanrecipient of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) since 2007 andone of the largest since 2000 Its total ODA inflow tripled from 2000ndash2010 rising from US$103 to US$35 billion (OECD 2012) Much of thisaid moreover was directed towards NGOs as per the 2003 CotonouAgreement14 between the European Union one of Ethiopiarsquos top donorsand recipient countries which highlighted the importance of non-stateactors in development From 2004 to 2007 Ethiopian NGOs received$125 billion in aid while annual donor flows to NGOs in all sectors rosefrom $30 million in 2004 to $573 million in 2011 (Cerritelli Bantirgu andAbagodu 2008 OECD statistics) Aid to Ethiopian human rights pro-grams ndash much of it went to lsquonichersquo human rights organizations ndash rosefrom $24 million in 2002 to $145 million in 2010
It is hard to know precisely what proportion of the 45 drop in regis-tered Ethiopian NGOs stemmed from the elimination of briefcase opera-tions The CSA says it examined the files of 1500 registered NGOs priorto the Proclamation and found that only 38 had current information onfile15 If most of the remaining NGOs were in fact inactive this suggestsan estimated briefcase rate of 62 slightly smaller than Barr Fafchampsand Owenrsquos (2005) Kampala finding of 7516 More research on thiscount is warranted
612 The death of local human rights lsquonichersquo groups
As expected many local human rights NGOs expired especially those ofthe single-issue type The Proclamation had specifically targeted rightsgroups and as noted above niche groups of this sort are particularlyvulnerable
According to one civil society expert lsquoThe biggest impact of the lawhas been on local Ethiopian human rights organizations because othertypes of organizations like local development organizations can stillaccess foreign funding Almost all human rights organizations [by con-trast] have died outrsquo17 Indeed this expert estimated that only 12 or 13 ofthe 125 previously existing local rights groups had re-registered with theCSA as such a 90 decline18
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2014
Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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2014
different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
19
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
21
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2014
The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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ashi
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2014
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Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
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Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
f W
ashi
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ibra
ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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nloa
ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
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2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Most of these 125 pre-2010 human rights groups were established dur-ing the 1990s and provided legal aid training and civic education moni-tored human rights violations and elections and advocated for the rightsof specific Ethiopian groups Many were single-issue NGOs including 25voter-education groups that either disappeared or restructured followingthe Proclamation19
Five of the 11 Northern donors we spoke with said the Proclamationhad forced them to cut funding to local rights groups a form oflsquorestructuringrsquo discussed below One explained that as a result of thenew law lsquodonors now focus on service deliveryrsquo while a second saidthat lsquodonors donrsquot want to conflict with the governmentrsquos rulesrsquo20 Athird said her agency had re-directed money from local rights groups topro-government NGOs21 while a fourth said it had moved money fromlocal rights activities to NGO capacity building
613 The survival of lsquogeneralistrsquo and niche NGOs in non-targeted sectors
Local NGOs working on non-contentious issues such as educationhealth agriculture and general development seemed to have survivedthe Proclamation Examples include Mary Joy Aid Through Develop-ment the Organization for Child Development and Transformation(CHADET) Agri Service Ethiopia the Rehabilitation and DevelopmentOrganizations (RADO) the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) the Rift Val-ley Children and Women Development Association the EmmanuelDevelopment Association the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Associa-tion Handicap National and many more
Unlike Ethiopiarsquos disappearing briefcase NGOs these groups providedbona fide services albeit in non-controversial areas Prior to the Proclama-tion some of these NGOs had well-established reputations and werefunded by international NGOs and donors while others (such as RESTand RADO) were (and remain) government-aligned22 and foreign-funded
62 Internally-focused survival strategies
Many of the survivors made internal changes to accommodate the Procla-mation A survey of 32 NGOs conducted in 2011 by the donor-fundedTaskforce for Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia forexample found that 70 of development organizations and 44 percentof human rights organizations in the study had changed their organiza-tional vision and mission23 This is not surprising given that so fewNGOs re-registered as lsquoEthiopian charitiesrsquo The human rights organiza-tions said they had reduced staff scaled down activities restructuredtheir organizations merged with other groups or split their NGO into
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
19
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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2014
Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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ded
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
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Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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different components24 Seventeen NGOs had rebranded by changingtheir mandate from human rights to development while 35 of humanrights NGOs said they had done both rebranding and restructuring
As expected most INGOs successfully re-registered with the officialCSA although often at substantial cost For instance two INGO repre-sentatives said their organizations had felt obliged to cut funding to localgroups who refused to drop their rights-based activities essentiallythese INGOs engaged in organizational restructuring25 In other casesINGOs and their partners engaged in less onerous rebranding a processmade easier by their multi-issue portfolios As one INGO representativeexplained his group and its local partners simply removed lsquorightsrsquo fromtheir re-registration application and continued to work on health-relatedissues as before26 Many surviving NGOs pursued this low-cost strategywhen possible including a discursive shift to an older lsquoneeds-basedrsquodevelopment approach emphasizing service provision and gap fillingSeveral interviewees said this had little real impact on activities how-ever suggesting either that the lsquorightsrsquo to lsquoneedsrsquo change was semanticor that the rights-based approach was never fully implemented (Abebe2010 CCRDA 2011b) Or as some skeptics of the rights-based approachhave argued the entire rights-based development paradigm may bebased more on appearance than on substance
One local NGO worker explained why rebranding was a relatively low-cost strategy lsquoWe revised our strategy mission and programs to a needs-based approach with a focus on protection and moved away from arights-based approach Now we talk about why education is importantbut we donrsquot talk about rights Our activities are largely the same after thelaw It is only the language that is changedrsquo27 A second local NGO repre-sentative said his groups changed from working on lsquorightsrsquo to focusing onservice delivery development and capacity building for other NGOs andgovernment departments (see also CCRDA 2011b) lsquoWe changed thewording of our rights-based activities into protection service deliveryand development activitiesrsquo a representative told us28
Many INGOs also jettisoned the human rights rhetoric29 The pre-2010mission of Action Aidrsquos Ethiopia branch for example was entitledlsquoRights to End Povertyrsquo involving working lsquowith poor and excluded peo-ple women and girls to eradicate absolute poverty inequality and denialof rightsrsquo In January 2010 the group changed its mission to working lsquotoensure that poor people effectively participate and make decisions in theeradication of their own poverty and their well-being generallyrsquo (quotedin Abebe 2010 and in Action Aid Ethiopia 2010) Like other groupsAction Aid had jettisoned the word lsquorightsrsquo dissolving the rights-devel-opment policy merger created just a few years earlier
Another INGO representative explained how his group rebranded itsgender work lsquoWe can no longer talk about equality because it is a
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sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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ity o
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2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
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ded
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vers
ity o
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
sensitive issue So we now talk about gender and development Other-wise our activities in our gender program are much the samersquo30 AnotherINGO working on child rights explained how it had re-labeled its workas lsquochild protection support and educationrsquo Donors similarly changedtheir focus from lsquorightsrsquo0 to lsquoprotectionrsquo lsquosupportrsquo lsquoeducationrsquolsquoempowermentrsquo lsquocapacity buildingrsquo and lsquodevelopmentrsquo31 lsquoRightsrsquo and aplethora of related terms were discarded
For most Ethiopian groups the decision to rebrand was not hard Asone of our key informants explained lsquomost local NGOs decided to regis-ter as resident charities and societies [Type 2 NGOs] because otherwisethere would be little [foreign] funding NGOs adapted their programs tofit within the law and simply removed rights and governance from theiractivitiesrsquo32 Indeed several interviewees said rebranding occurred afterconsultations with the government as to what issues they could stillwork on given their use of international funding Given the paucity oflocal funding local groups felt they had little choice as one local NGOworker put it lsquoNGOs must change to reflect changes in what donorsfund because we are implementers for the donors most NGOs satisfythe needs and interest of donorsrsquo33
Other NGOs engaged in restructuring a more costly compliance effortInitiative Africa for example had worked on good governance issuesprior to the Proclamation but then switched its mission to achievinglsquoEducation For Allrsquo Action Professionals Association for the People(APAP) similarly changed its mission to providing socio-economic serv-ices for the poor developing the capacity of other NGOs and researchThe Ethiopian Arbitration and Conciliation Center stopped providingconflict resolution and arbitration and now offers capacity building andjudicial training The Hundee Oromo Grassroots Organization whichhad a portfolio of rights-focused activities now works on livelihoodsland rehabilitation food security environmental rehabilitation andwomenrsquos empowerment The African Initiative for a Democratic WorldOrder (AIDWO) previously engaged in human rights advocacy and civiceducation renamed itself Amudaeas and began working on entirely dif-ferent issues including environmental protection leadership and wom-enrsquos inclusion34 The Organization for Social Justice Ethiopia (OSJE) alocal NGO working on human rights social justice voter education andelection monitoring renamed itself the Organization for Social Develop-ment and began working on corporate social responsibility35 As oneexpert told us the lsquoOSJE was told by the Charities and Societies Agency[CSA] that they could not stay with their mission unless they were anEthiopian charity [Type 1 NGO] But the OSJE could not raise sufficientfunds [locally] so they changed their name and missionrsquo36 The OSJEbecame the OSD the mission changed and the foreign-sourced revenuecontinued
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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ded
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ashi
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2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ded
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ity o
f W
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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34
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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Local NGO networks also changed The 24-member Ethiopian CivilSociety Network for Elections disappeared while nearly all of the 25members of the Union of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations droppedtheir work on human rights in favor of other areas
As expected broad lsquogeneralistrsquo portfolios protected local NGOs Manyof the groups listed in Table 3 as well as seven of the nine local and inter-national NGOs we interviewed successfully rebranded or restructuredbecause they were generalist rather than niche human rights groupsThese survivors enjoyed established reputations in safe issue areas andcould continue working on those issues without the lsquorightsrsquo label Singleissue niche-style rights groups by contrast lsquofound it hard to switch to anew issue arearsquo both because they lsquolack[ed] the skills and expertisersquo andbecause lsquothey donrsquot have many established [foreign] donorsrsquo37 With notrack record in the non-controversial areas few niche groups were ableto gain the expertise and reputation to attract donor money for new non-rights-related activities
Table 3 Examples of survival strategies and post-proclamation organizationalchanges for local human rights organizations
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Human Rights Council(EHRCO) Established in 1991 Functions monitor human rightsprovide legal aid to victims ofhuman rights violations publishreports organize workshops andtraining promote democracy andthe rule of law
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Human Rights Council
Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Women LawyersAssociation (EWLA) Established in 1995 Functions provide legal aidresearch and report on humanrights violations advocate for therights of women advocate forlegal reforms
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions inreduced capacity
Ethiopian Bar Association Established in the 1970rsquos Functions legal education andtraining advocate for legalreform provide legal aid
Continued on unchanged Government required namechange to Ethiopian LawyersAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian Society Carries out the same functions
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
19
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2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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pril
2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
21
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pril
2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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09
44 2
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2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Vision Ethiopian Congress forDemocracy Established in 2003 Functions civic educationelection observation promotedemocracy and good governanceconduct training and workshopsleadership training
Continued on unchanged Registered as Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Human Rights and Peace CenterUniversity of Addis Ababa Established in 2008 Functions teach human rights lawand international humanitarianlaw prepare teaching materialsand other publications dealingwith human rights law trainpersonnel collect documentationof human rights
Continued on unchanged as theCenter for Human Rights AddisAbaba University
Registered as Ethiopian Charity(officially labeled Human Rightsand Peace Center)
Carries out the same functions
Transparency Ethiopia Established in 2002 Functions fight corruptionpromote good governanceconduct research and trainingcivic education electionmonitoring and observationpromote rule of law
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
African Rally for Peace andDevelopment Established in 2005 Functions build capacity fordevelopment and securitypromote peaceful coexistenceadvocate for justice and humanrights fight global warming andenvironmental degradationtraining and networking connectwith and support African Union
Continued on unchanged Registered as an Ethiopian Charity Carries out the same functions
Kembetta Womenrsquos Self-HelpCenter Ethiopia Association Established in 1997 Functions try to stop femalegenital mutilation and otherharmful practices empowerwomen to become aware of anddemand their rights reducegender violence
RebrandedNew name KMG-Ethiopia Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onempowering and enabling womento create an environment wheretheir rights are observe andhelping women to realize their
(continued)
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2014
Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
21
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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2014
Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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2014
simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
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ity o
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2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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ded
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vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ries
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pril
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
economic wellbeing andadvancement throughdevelopment interventions
Association for Nation-WideAction for Prevention andProtection Against Child Abuseand Neglect (ANPPCAN) Established in 1990 Functions promote child rightsand child protection
RebrandedNew name African Network forPrevention and Protection ofChildren Against Maltreatmentand Neglect (ANPPCAN)
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions engaged inprevention of child maltreatmentprotection of children againstabuse and exploitationencourages child participation inpsycho-social and other servicesintervene in cases of child abuseresearch and advocacy
Forum for Street Children Established in 1989 Functions work on realizing childrights for urban disadvantagedand exploited children
RebrandedNew name Forum on SustainableChild Empowerment
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions needs-basedapproach with a focus on childprotection and well-being
Initiative Africa Established in 2002 Functions strengthen capacity oflocal organizations working ongood governance
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New function achievingEducation for All
Action Professionals Associationfor the People (APAP) Established in 1993 Functions legal empowermentprogram aim at improving humanrights and providing legalservices disseminate humanrights information and conducthuman rights training conductresearch carry out human rightseducation
RestructuredNew name Action ProfessionalsAssociation
Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions facilitates basicsocio-economic services to thepoor and marginalizeddeveloping the capacity of otherNGOs and doing research
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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vers
ity o
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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Table 3 (Continued )
Pre-proclamation Post-proclamation
Ethiopian Arbitration andConciliation Center Established in 2004 Functions focused on conflictresolution activities disputeresolution
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
New functions training for judgesand capacity building
Hundee Oromo GrassrootsOrganization Established in 1995 Functions constitutional trainingprogram and a womenrsquos rightsawareness program civiceducation food securityenvironmental protection andrural development
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
New functions works onlivelihoods land rehabilitationfood security environmentalrehabilitation womenrsquosempowerment
Organization for Social Justice Established in 2003 Functions voter education andelection observation report onhuman rights promote humanrights and social justice civic andlegal empowerment capacitybuilding legal aid to the poor
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentCharity
Renamed the Organization forSocial Development
New functions researchescorporate social responsibility(CSR) educates about andpromotes CSR engages the privatesector in CSR and advocates forCSR laws and practices
African Initiative for a DemocraticWorld Order (AIDWO) Established in 1995 Functions human rightsadvocacy civic education votereducation capacity building
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed AmudaeasNew functions works forinclusion and development ofwomen and girls environmentalprotection
Research Center for Civic andHuman Rights Education(RCCHE) Established in 1999 Functions conflict managementand transformation civic andvoters education womenrsquosempowerment good governancedemocracy HIVAIDS educationenvironmental educationdocument human rights abuses
Restructured Registered as Ethiopian ResidentSociety
Renamed Research Center forDevelopment and Education
New functions works on organicfarming environmentalprotection and eco-tourism
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
23
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2014
Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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2014
simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
25
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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ded
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] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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ded
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Uni
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ity o
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ngto
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ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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In summary most Ethiopian and international NGOs responded to theProclamation by rebranding the least costly form of compliance or byrestructuring a deeper form of change A brave few groups did continuetheir original work by registering as Type 1 NGOs or lsquoEthiopianassociationsrsquo using new locally sourced budgets and local volunteersExamples include the Ethiopian Women Lawyerrsquos Association (EWLA)the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) the Ethiopian HumanRights amp Civic Education Promotion Association and Vision EthiopianCongress for Democracy They eschewed rebranding or restructuringbecause of their long history of human rights work and their leadersrsquostrong commitment to human rights ideas and tools As the director ofVision Ethiopia explained lsquoMost [Ethiopian] advocacy groups changedtheir status and transformed themselves into development associationsYou can ask us why we didnrsquot do so For me it is an insult to deviate fromonce established objectives and activities which we were engaged in forover 15 yearsrsquo38 These rare NGOs paid a high price however Both theEHRC and EWLA were forced to dramatically downsize with the formerclosing nine of its 12 offices and slashing its staff from 60 to nine The lattermade similarly drastic cuts (Amnesty International 2012a 2012b)
621 Externally-focused survival strategies
The governmentrsquos ban on international aid triggered little local protestand prompted few Ethiopian individuals or businesses to replace foreignfunds by their own donations Clearly one major reason is the statersquoscrackdown which signaled that local rights groups and their supporterswere in danger As one source noted lsquopeople are afraid to contribute toNGOs because of the association of NGOs with opposition politics Thelevel of trust in donating money to organizations has declinedrsquo39
The human rights idiom and rights-based organizations howevermay have also suffered from weak local support as is true elsewhere inAfrica (An-Narsquoim 2000 Dicklitch and Lwanga 2003 Englund 2006Mutua 1994 1997 Okafor 2006 Odinkalu 1999) Latin America hasenjoyed a long history of human rights-based mobilizing but the same isnot true of other world regions (Hafner-Burton and Ron 2012) As onesource explained lsquothe rights-based approach [to development] was notwell known among the [Ethiopian] public In the past civil society organ-izations were engaged in service delivery and only more recently havethey combined rights advocacy and service delivery The public andNGO beneficiaries are not upset about the removal of the rights-basedapproach since they donrsquot really know what it meansrsquo40
Indeed one report claimed that local NGOs in Ethiopia reflected donorrather than local priorities instilling the notion that these groups wereforeign not indigenous organizations
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
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51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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34
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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38
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Most Ethiopian CSOs are set up by a few individuals and rely onforeign funds Their relations with the communities they work withhave been hierarchical (donorndashrecipient) rather than one of equalpartnership Lack of constituencymass base has undermined thebargaining power of CSOs and risks resulting in alienation from thepublic Hence the public didnrsquot stand in their support when theyfaced policy and legal challenges and they become easy prey fordefamatory media campaigns on the sector (CCRDA 2011a 65ndash66)
The Ethiopian public is generally disinterested in donating to the NGOsector As one local NGO worker lamented lsquoIt is really foreigners andpeople with a ldquoforeign culturerdquo who give money to NGOsrsquo41 Insteadmost Ethiopians perceive NGOsrsquo role as one of giving money to Ethio-pians rather than the reverse (CCRDA 2011b) Some Ethiopians are mis-trustful of NGOs fearing that they are unaccountable corrupt orfocused on personal gain As one former local NGO employee notedlsquoThe law revealed that working in an NGO is all about money NGOsdidnrsquot seek out local sources of funding but rather changed their objec-tives to fit the law and keep operating NGOs are a lucrative businessthey provide allowances high salaries and travel opportunities NGOscan engage in patronage by giving out jobs or workshops in return formoney and other forms of support NGOs want to keep money flowingbecause of the benefitsrsquo42 Or as one INGO source argued lsquomany people[in Ethiopia] view NGOs as being wasteful that they do nothing and
Figure 2 The number of publications on Ethiopia by Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch released from 2000 to 2012 includes all reports pressreleases and commentaries specifically written about Ethiopia and published bythese two organizations
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2014
simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
25
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
REFERENCES
Aalen L and Tronvoll K (2009) lsquoThe end of democracy Curtailing political andcivil rights in Ethiopiarsquo Review of African Political Economy 36(120) 193ndash207
Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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34
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nloa
ded
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ity o
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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2014
simply earn big salariesrsquo43 These criticisms echo arguments advanced byscholarly NGO skeptics and government officials
Survey data suggests an extreme form of lsquoresource partitioningrsquo in theEthiopian charitable sector On the one hand a recent Gallup poll foundthat only 10 of surveyed Ethiopians answered lsquoyesrsquo when asked whetherthey had lsquodonated money to a charityrsquo in the last month compared with28 in Kenya or 16 in Sudan44 Yet a similarly recent Pew survey foundthat 63 of surveyed Ethiopian Christians and 82 of surveyed EthiopianMuslims reported giving alms via the church or mosque Ethiopians dogive but they channel those funds through traditional religious charitiesrather than through the more modernistic NGOs
63 Mobilizing transnational support
Although local political support was weak some local NGOs fought theProclamation by mobilizing transnational allies and groups The Consor-tium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA)Ethiopiarsquos largest umbrella NGO mobilized a Task Force to funnel infor-mation to the international community (CCRDA 2011b Hailegebriel2010) while other groups appealed for help more quietly given thelsquohistory of civil society representatives [in Ethiopia] being imprisonedand harassedrsquo45
Transnational human rights groups and media sources coveredEthiopian events closely (see Figure 2) especially following the con-tested 2005 elections and the governmentrsquos 2008 release of the draftProclamation Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UNagencies and others condemned the proposed law From 2008 to2012 international news sources published at least 33 articles specifi-cally on the Proclamation46
The government fought back however Although it wanted interna-tional donor money it was unwilling to permit foreigners to support civilsociety challengers As the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry explained
These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage inpolitical activities as of right This is normal practice in most coun-tries as political activities by their very nature are reserved for citi-zens It is a sovereign statersquos right to limit the influence of foreignersthrough any financing of political activities Aside from politics foreigncharities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed development activities and humanitarian needs of the country(Emphasis added From httpwwwmfagovetinternationalMorephppg frac14 59 (accessed 24 May 2013))
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
25
Dow
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2014
The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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09
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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2014
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Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
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Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
f W
ashi
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ibra
ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
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The government was largely successful in its effort as the Proclamationbecame law with only very minor modifications How did it survive thetransnational mobilization
First many donors were unwilling to cut their aid fearing that thiswould hurt the poor and undermine the countryrsquos development prog-ress47 As one source explained lsquoDonors like the [Ethiopian] gov-ernmentrsquos emphasis on developmentrsquo and its strong economicperformance lsquomollifies [the donorsrsquo] disappointment over democraticperformancersquo48 Donors after all are keen for economic success storiesand Ethiopia appeared to fit that bill
Geopolitics are also important since Ethiopia has been a stable US andWestern ally in an unstable area The country has played a key role in thelsquowar on terrorrsquo invading Somalia with US support in 2006 and allowingUS drones to use the countryrsquos south as a base As one respondent notedlsquothere is a quid pro quo arrangement between Ethiopia and the WestEthiopia ensures that Western military objectives are met in exchange forlittle pressure regarding domestic politicsrsquo49 This arrangement is sup-ported by a US policy of lsquoquiet diplomacyrsquo that is unwilling to publiclycriticize Ethiopian abuses and that boosted US aid a year after the Procla-mation (Human Rights Watch 2010)
7 CONCLUSION TOWARDS A NEW RESEARCH AGENDA
Governments are key pillars of NGOrsquos institutional environment NGOsare not beyond the state While recognizing the influence that NGOssometimes exercise in shaping the state itself scholars must appreciatethe important role of the state in defining the political space afforded toNGOs Therefore a study of the population ecology of the NGO sectormust pay careful attention to how states seeks to shape the emergencesustenance strategy and demise of NGOs
Our Ethiopian case suggests that public regulations influence thebehavior and survival of local and international NGOs in predictableways To explore the generalizability of our claims scholars should probethe impact of newly restrictive NGO laws in Egypt Eritrea Russia andelsewhere Have briefcase groups disappeared Have INGOs survivedHave generalist NGOs done better than those in specialized niche espe-cially those of the human rights type Have local citizens donated theirown time and money to NGOs or have they abandoned these liberalmodern-style groups to their fate And given that the majority of surviv-ing Ethiopian rights-based groups dropped the language of rights whatdoes this suggest about the durability and normative power of thehuman rights movement particularly in the global South These explora-tions will help clarify the extent to which local NGOs are indeed embed-ded in local society
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26
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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09
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
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28
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2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
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vers
ity o
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09
44 2
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2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
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Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
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Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
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Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
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n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
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Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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We also need more and better information on resource mobilizationfor charity and social justice in Southern locales The above-cited Pewand Gallup data in Ethiopia suggests that liberal NGOs are oftenexcluded from local philanthropic flows in the South a claim sup-ported by new evidence from Mexico India and Morocco50 In Mex-ico for example only 4 of a national survey reported donatingmoney to local human rights groups compared with 23 whoreported giving to lsquoparentsrsquo associationsrsquo or 22 to lsquoreligious organ-izationsrsquo Resource partitioning appeared even more acute in Mumbaiand its environs only 4 of respondents had donated to local humanrights groups and only three to local NGOs Thirty-eight percent haddonated to religious organizations however And in Morocco only1 had donated to local rights groups and less than half a percentto local NGOs writ large51 If these findings hold true more gener-ally it seems likely that local Southern NGOs will remain dependenton Northern funds until they learn to jump the resource divide
We also require rigorously derived explanations for the global anti-NGO backlash The evidence from Ethiopia Kenya and Russia amongother countries suggests that contentious elections in new (and illiberal)democracies and quasi-authoritarian regimes play an important role(Levitisky and Way 2010 Zakaria 1997) Other possibilities include therole of ultra-nationalists as in the case of Israel or major corporate inter-ests as in the case of Canada We also need better and more systematicexplanations of how some regimes like Ethiopia manage to successfullyfend off transnational activist and diplomatic pressures to roll back illib-eral NGO laws We also need to improve understanding of how theselaws impact human rights practices and improve discourse in the statesthat adopt them
These questions propose a new research agenda on the relationshipbetween states societies and NGOs Pursuing this agenda will requirerigorous theory-building studies of individual country decisions toadopt restrictive laws and their effects on NGOs as well as new cross-national time-series data to explain these lawsrsquo timing a project withwhich we are currently engaged
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Research on this project was supported by funds from the Harold E StassenChair at the University of Minnesota The authors would like to thank the womenand men who agreed to be interviewed for this project in Ethiopia as well as thehuman rights activists and experts we interviewed elsewhere in the world Wealso thank those who commented on the paper at annual meetings of the Interna-tional Studies Association and the American Political Science Association as wellas several anonymous reviewers for the Review of International Political Economy
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
27
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09
44 2
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
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44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
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Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
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nloa
ded
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vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
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ity o
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ashi
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ries
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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ity o
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2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
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ded
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] at
09
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2014
NOTES
1 Numbers are based on data collected by the authors during 2012 on all lawspassed worldwide regarding both the operations of foreign NGOs and for-eign funding flows to domestic NGOs These laws impose restrictions in thefollowing activities whether and how foreign NGOs register with the gov-ernment whether foreigners can join or form an association the issue areason which foreign NGOs can work on and the activities that they can carryout whether and how foreign NGOs can operate employ foreign workersenter into partnerships and report on their activities whether and howNGOs can receive foreign funding as well as how much foreign fundingthey can receive and on whether foreign NGOs must pay taxes and finallyon how NGOs can use and must report on the receipt andor use of foreignfunding
2 In his article on the backlash Carothers (2006) argues that restrictive civilsociety legislation is a means for rulers of semi-democratic regimes to thwartany serious challenge to their rule and to thus maintain their grip on powerHowell et al (2008) argue that the semi-democratic regimes use post-911security concerns to justify clamping down on civil society organizationsoften seen as supporters of political opposition
3 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 20114 See Aalen and Tronvoll (2009) These claims likely stemmed from the support
offered to opposition parties by the Ethiopian diaspora (see Lyons 2007)along with election monitoring voter education and human rights reportingby local foreign-funded groups
5 On ERPDF ideology see Rahmato (2002 2010) Although Ethiopia is one ofAfricarsquos top economic performers its political system lags on most indicatorsof democratic governance
6 A ruling party (ERPDF) document from 2006 outlines the governmentrsquos viewof NGOs lsquoNGOs are not organizations established by citizens to protect theirrights These organizations are rather established by individuals mainly forpersonal benefit accountable to and advancing the interests of foreign agen-cies Their leaders are not accountable to the staff of the organizations andthe beneficiaries As a result they cannot have a democratic nature and role Therefore the government has to confront the rent seeking nature ofNGOs for example by considering those organizations receiving 15 percentof their income from foreign sources as foreign organizations and denyingthem recognition as a means of expression of freedom of association as wellas democratic forumsrsquo Quoted in Hailegebriel (2010 20) See also Yeshanew2012
7 The Proclamation does not apply to religious organizations cultural associa-tions organizations governed by other laws or organizations operating inonly one region of the country
8 We recognize that human rights work occurs not only in human rights organ-izations (those organizations that focus solely on promoting rights) but thathuman rights work also takes place in a variety of other civil society organi-zations to include in development and service-delivery NGOs
9 In other words we used a pared down version of the lsquoreputational samplingrsquomethod advocated by Farquharson (2005)
10 We obtained written ethics approval from the relevant university ethicsboard prior to fieldwork
11 For a discussion of non-probability sampling procedures see Patton (2001)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
28
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09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
Dow
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
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vers
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pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
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nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
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34
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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ity o
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] at
09
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pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
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ded
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vers
ity o
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ries
] at
09
44 2
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2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
12 Data come from USAID (2010) Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) RahmatoBantirgu and Endeshaw (2010) and the Charities and Societies Agency (wwwchsagovet) The numbers of organizations in 2009 reflect updated data
13 Interview A3 Addis Ababa August 201114 See httpeceuropaeueuropeaidwhereacpoverviewcotonou-agree-
mentindex_enhtm See also Rahmato Bantirgu and Endeshaw (2010)15 Interview A17 Addis Ababa August 201116 However other countries and regions differ from Africa For instance Gauri
and Galef (2005) find that more than 80 of NGOs in Bangladesh were regis-tered with the government with 55 of NGOs reporting a visit by local gov-ernment officials
17 Interview A8 Addis Ababa August 201118 Table 3 shows the post-Proclamation status of several rights-focused groups
only seven of these continue to work specifically on human rights issues(Based on data gathered at the offices of the Charities and Societies Agencyin Addis Ababa)
19 Interviews A20 and A21 Addis Ababa 201120 Interview A4 Addis Ababa August 201121 Interview A16 Addis Ababa August 201122 Government-aligned organizations seem to have largely survived the Procla-
mation unchanged As one of the anonymous reviewers of this paper pointedout these organizations are important tools for mobilizing ERPDF supportmaking it clear why the Proclamation favors mass-based local organizationsbut restricts independent organizations that support alternative politicalforces We are grateful to the reviewer for this observation
23 The CSO Taskforce is housed at the CCRDA and is partially funded by theDonor Assistance Group for Ethiopia (DAG) This survey was designed toassess the implementation of the Proclamation and its impact on the work ofcivil society organizations in Ethiopia Questionnaires were distributed to 70organizations which included a broad range of NGOs as well as governmentorganizations media donors and UN agencies Thirty-two of the 70 solicitedorganizations responded to the survey
24 See Dagne and Hailegebriel (2011) Not all NGOs have been forced tocompletely abandon their rights-based work as there are two exceptions inthe Proclamation for foreign funding of rights-based work First the bilateralclause in Article 3 of the Proclamation allows international and foreignorganizations to enter into bilateral agreements with the government in orderto continue activities that NGOs are otherwise not permitted to engage inwith foreign funding Prison Fellowship International (a pro-governmentNGO that works in prisons to promote human rights) and the National Coali-tion of Women Against HIVAIDS (a local NGO that the former First LadyAzeb Mesfin chairs) are two of the very few organizations that have receiveda bilateral exemption Second there are some exceptions for rights-basedwork within the structure of donor funding in that money allocated to themulti-donor Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) as well as funding fromthe European Commissionrsquos Civil Society Fund can be used for rights workUnder the DIP program donor funding has been channeled to the gov-ernmentrsquos Ethiopian Human Rights Commission which then provides fundsto local NGOs The European Commission Civil Society Fund (CSF) is a jointinitiative with the Government of Ethiopia and money from the CSF is con-sidered to be local funding by the government (Information based on the
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
29
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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vers
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pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
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nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
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ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
websites of these funding entities and from interviews conducted with civilsociety experts and foreign donors in Addis Ababa in August 2011)
25 Interviews A6 and A9 Addis Ababa August 201126 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201127 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201128 Interview A 10 Addis Ababa August 201129 Interviews A3 A4 A5 A13 A16 A19 Addis Ababa August 201130 Interview A6 Addis Ababa August 201131 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201132 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201133 Interview A11 Addis Ababa August 201134 Interviews A18 and A18 Addis Ababa August 201135 See httposdethiopiaorg Along with the former head of policy at Action
Aid (Daniel Bekele) the then-director of OSJ (Netsanet Demissie) was impris-oned and charged with treason and using their organizations as covers forpursuing political motives after the 2005 elections
36 Interview A20 Addis Ababa August 2011 See also Amnesty International(2012b)
37 Interview A21 Addis Ababa August 201138 Taken from wwwthereporterethiopiacomInterviewit-is-rather-commendable-
to-every-citizen-to-come-out-and-confront-any-difficultyhtml (accessed 1 Octo-ber 2012) One of the anonymous reviewers for this paper pointed out that whilethe decision to continue operating unchanged was rare for rights groups inEthiopia the opposite has occurred in other contexts For example groupslabeled by the Russian government as lsquoforeign agentsrsquo have refused on princi-pled grounds to do so despite the material incentives to do so Future researchshould address this important question of the conditions under which activistsdo not do the materially rational thing and adjust their operations in the after-math of a regulatory change in order to ensure their survival We are grateful tothe reviewer for this observation
39 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201140 Interview A18 Addis Ababa August 201141 Interview A7 Addis Ababa August 201142 Interview A1 Addis Ababa August 201143 Interview A12 Addis Ababa August 201144 According to the 2012 Gallup Worldview Poll available on wwwworldview
gallupcom45 Interview A19 Addis Ababa August 201146 On August 17 2012 we searched the LexisNexis database with lsquoEthiopia
AND NGOs AND civil society AND lawrsquo lsquoEthiopia AND Charities and Soci-eties Proclamationrsquo and lsquoEthiopian Human Rights Councilrsquo
47 Interview A26 via telephone September 201248 Interview A14 Addis Ababa August 201149 Interview A25 via telephone September 201250 The 2012 Mexican survey was a nationally representative poll of 2400 adults
The 2012 Mumbai survey was a representative poll of 1680 adults living inMumbai and its rural environs with rural and religious oversamples The2012 Moroccan survey was a poll of 1100 adults living in Casablanca Rabatand their rural environs with a rural oversample Further details can be pro-vided by the authors upon request see Ron and Crow (forthcoming)
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
30
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
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ity o
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pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
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ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
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ashi
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ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
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] at
09
44 2
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pril
2014
51 Only 03 of the Moroccan population reported donating to lsquoreligiousassociationsrsquo but this figure likely does not include the Islamic zakat or reli-gious tithe
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Kendra Dupuy is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington (Seattle)Department of Political Science a researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo(Norway) and an advisor at Chr Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Norway) Shestudies the political economy of natural resource extraction corporate socialresponsibility corruption and transparency NGOs and African politics
James Ron is the Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the University of Min-nesotarsquos Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Department of Political Scienceand is an affiliated professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching(CIDE) in Mexico City He studies human rights public opinion NGOs andinternational assistance and edits an online forum for human rights activistsopenGlobalRights
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professorfor the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle) Heis the founding General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Busi-ness and Public Policy and the co-editor of Journal of Policy Analysis and Manage-ment He studies international political economy environmental issues and NGOpolitics
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Abebe M G (2010) lsquoChange management in the civil society sector how are civilsociety organizations in Ethiopia adjusting to change in their policy environ-mentrsquo Unpublished manuscript Berlin Hertie School of Governance
Action Aid Ethiopia (2010) lsquoInterim Country Strategic Plan (2010ndash2011)rsquo AddisAbaba Action Aid Ethiopia
Aldrich H E (2008) Organizations and Environments Stanford Stanford Univer-sity Press
Amnesty International (2012a) lsquoEthiopia the 2009 charities and societies procla-mation as a serious obstacle to the promotion and protection of human rightsin Ethiopiarsquo Amnesty Internationalrsquos written statement to the 20th Session ofthe UN Human Rights Council 18 June ndash 6 July 2012
Amnesty International (2012b) Stifling Human Rights Work The Impact of CivilSociety Legislation in Ethiopia London Amnesty International
An-Narsquoim A (2000) lsquoProblems of dependency human rights organizations in theArab world an interview with Abdullahi An-Narsquoimrsquo Middle East Report 214(Spring) 20ndash47
Andreas P (2001) Border Games Policing the US-Mexico Divide Ithaca CornellUniversity Press
Arriola L R (2013) lsquoProtesting and policing in a multiethnic authoritarian stateevidence from Ethiopiarsquo Comparative Politics 45(2) 147ndash168
Barr A Fafchamps M and Owens T (2005) lsquoThe governance of non-governmental organizations in UgandarsquoWorld Development 33(4) 657ndash679
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
31
Dow
nloa
ded
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Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
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44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
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Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
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ibra
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09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Baum J A C (1999) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo in S R Clegg and C Hardy (eds)Studying Organization Theory and Method London Sage Publications Ltd
Baum J C and Singh J V (1994) lsquoOrganizational niches and the dynamics oforganizational mortalityrsquo American Journal of Sociology 100(2) 346ndash380
Beckmann D (1991) lsquoRecent experiences and emerging trendsrsquo in S Paul and AIsrael (eds) Nongovernmental Organizations and the World Bank Cooperation forDevelopment Washington World Bank
Berkovitch N and Gordon N (2008) lsquoThe political economy of transnationalregimes the case of human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 52(4) 881ndash904
Biernacki P and Waldorf D (1981-82) lsquoSnowball sampling problems and techni-ques of chain referral samplingrsquo Sociological Research and Methods 10(2) 141ndash163
Bloodgood E Tremblay-Boire J and Prakash A (Forthcoming) lsquoNational stylesof NGO regulationrsquo Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly forthcomingDoi 1011770899764013481111
Bob C (2005) The Marketing of Rebellion Insurgents Media and InternationalActivism New York Cambridge University Press
Bob C (2012) The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics CambridgeCambridge University Press
Bratton M (1989) lsquoThe politics of government-NGO relations in Africarsquo WorldDevelopment 17 569ndash587
Bronner E (2011) lsquoIsraeli government backs limits on financing for nonprofitgroupsrsquo New York Times November 13 available online at httpwwwnytimescom20111114worldmiddleeastisraeli-government-backs-financing-limits-for-nonprofit-groupshtmlscp=1ampsq=Israeli20NGOs20ethan20Bronnerampst=cse last accessed on March 15 2012
Burger R and Owens T (2010) lsquoPromoting transparency in the NGO sectorexamining the availability and reliability of self-reported datarsquoWorld Develop-ment 38(9) 1263ndash1277
Carothers T (2006) The backlash against democracy promotionrsquo Foreign Affairs85(2) 55ndash68
Carpenter C (2007) lsquoStudying issue (non)-adoption in transnational advocacynetworksrsquo International Organization 61 643ndash667
Carroll G R (1984) lsquoOrganizational ecologyrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 10 71ndash93Cernea M M (1988) lsquoNongovernmental organizations and local developmentrsquo
World Bank Discussion Papers no 40 Washington DC World BankCerritelli W E Bantirgu A and Abagodu R (2008) lsquoUpdated mapping study of
non state actors in Ethiopiarsquo Addis Ababa European Commission CivilSociety Fund in Ethiopia
Chahim D and Prakash A (2014) lsquoNGOization foreign funding andNicaraguan civil societyrsquo Voluntas 25 487ndash513
Chandhoke N (2002) lsquoThe limits of global civil societyrsquo in M Glasius M Kaldorand H Anheier (eds) Global Civil Society Yearbook 2002 Oxford Oxford Uni-versity Press
Clark J (2000) Civil Society NGOs and Development in Ethiopia A Snapshot ViewWashington DC The World Bank
Cooley A and Ron J (2002) lsquoThe NGO scramble organizational insecurity andthe political economy of transnational actionrsquo International Security 27(1) 5ndash39
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011a)Users Manual for the Charities and Societies Law Addis Ababa Consortium of
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
32
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Christian Relief and Development Association Taskforce on EnablingEnvironment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA) (2011b)The Impact of the Charities and Societies Law on Prospects for GO-NGO Partnershipin Ethiopia Addis Ababa Consortium of Christian Relief and DevelopmentAssociation
Cornwall A and Nyamu-Musembi C (2004) lsquoPutting the ldquorights-basedapproachrdquo to development into perspectiversquo Third World Quarterly 25(8)1415ndash1437
Dagne K and Hailegebriel D (2011) Assessment of the Impact of the Charities andSocieties Regulatory Framework on Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia AddisAbaba Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association Task-force on Enabling Environment for Civil Society in Ethiopia
Dicklitch S and Lwanga D (2003) lsquoThe politics of being non-political humanrights organizations and the creation of a positive human rights culture inUgandarsquo Human Rights Quarterly 25(2) 482ndash509
Eckstein H (1975) lsquoCase study and theory in political sciencersquo in FI Greensteinand NW Polsby (eds)Handbook of Political Science Reading MA Addison-Wesley
Edwards M (2009) Civil Society Cambridge PolityEdwards M and Hulme D (1996) lsquoToo close for comfort The impact of official
aid on nongovernmental organizationsrsquoWorld Development 24(6) 961ndash973Englund H (2006) Prisoners of Freedom Human Rights and the African Poor Berke-
ley CA University of California PressFafchamps M and Owens T (2009) lsquoThe determinants of funding to Ugandan
nongovernmental organizationsrsquo The World Bank Economic Review 23(2) 295ndash321
Farquharson K (2005) lsquoA different kind of snowball identifying key policy-makersrsquo International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8(4) 345ndash353
Freeman J and Hannan M T (1983) lsquoNiche width and the dynamics of organiza-tional populationsrsquo American Journal of Sociology 88(6) 1116ndash1145
Galaskiewicz J and Bielefeld W (1998)Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncer-tainty A Study of Organizational Change New York Aldine de Gruyter
Gauri V and Galef J (2005) lsquoNGOs in Bangladesh activities resources and gov-ernancersquoWorld Development 33(12) 2045ndash2065
Gerring J and McDermott R (2007) lsquoAn experimental template for case studyresearchrsquo American Journal of Political Science 51(3) 688ndash701
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2009) Proclamation toProvide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies Proclamation6212009
Gray V and Lowery D (1996) lsquoA niche theory of interest representationrsquo TheJournal of Politics 58(1) 91ndash111
Hafner-Burton E M (2008) lsquoSticks and stones naming and shaming the humanrights enforcement problemrsquo International Organization 62 689ndash716
Hafner-Burton E M and Ron J (2012) lsquoThe Latin bias regions the Anglo-Americanmedia and human rightsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 57(3) pp 474ndash491
Hailegebriel D (2010) lsquoEthiopiarsquo The International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law 1218ndash27
Hammami R (1995) lsquoNGOs the professionalization of politicsrsquo Race and Class 37(2) 51ndash64
Hannan M T and Freeman J (1977) lsquoThe population ecology of organizationsrsquoAmerican Journal of Sociology 82(5) 929ndash964
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
33
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Hearn J (2007) lsquoAfrican NGOs the new compradorsrsquo Development and Change 38(6) 1095ndash1110
Henderson S L (2011) lsquoCivil society in Russia state-society relations in the post-Yeltsin erarsquo Problems of Post-Communism 58(3) 11ndash27
Hillman A J Withers M C and Collins B J (2009) Resource dependencetheory a reviewrsquo Journal of Management 35(6) 1404ndash1427
Howell J Ishkanian A Obadare E Seckinelgin H and Glasius M (2008) lsquoThebacklash against civil society in the wake of the long war on terrorrsquo Developmentin Practice 18(1) 82ndash93
Human Rights Watch (2010) lsquoOne Hundred Ways of Putting Pressurersquo Violations ofFreedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopiarsquo New York Human RightsWatch
Jalali R (2008) lsquoInternational funding of NGOs in India bringing the state backinrsquo Voluntas 19 161ndash188
Jenkins C J (1983) lsquoResource mobilization theory and the study of social move-mentsrsquo Annual Review of Sociology 9 527ndash553
Johnson E and Prakash A (2006) lsquoNGO research project a collective actionperspectiversquo Policy Sciences 40 221ndash240
Keck M and Sikkink K (1998) Activists Beyond Borders Advocacy Networks inInternational Politics Ithaca Cornell University Press
Kershner I (2010) lsquoIsraeli rights groups view themselves as under siegersquo NewYork Times April 5 Available online at httpwwwnytimescom20100406worldmiddleeast06israelhtmlscp=17ampsq=israeli20NGOsampst=cselast accessed on March 15 2012
Khagram S Riker J V and Sikkink K (eds) (2002) Restructuring World PoliticsTransnational Social Movements Networks and Norms Minneapolis Universityof Minnesota Press
Kindornay S Ron J and Carpenter C (2012) lsquoRights-based approaches to devel-opment implications for NGOsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly 34(2) 472ndash506
Krain M (2012) lsquoJrsquoaccuse Does naming and shaming perpetrators reduce theseverity of genocides or politicidesrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(3) 574ndash589
Krasner S (1995) lsquoPower politics institutions and transnational relationsrsquo in TRisse-Kappen (ed) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-State ActorsDomestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cambridge Uni-versity Press
Levitisky S and Way L A (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism Hybrid RegimesAfter the Cold War Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Lewis D and Wallace T (2000) New Roles and Relevance Developmental NGOs andthe Challenge of Change Hartford CT Kumarian Press
Lyons T (2007) lsquoConflict-generated diasporas and transnational politics inEthiopiarsquo Conflict Security amp Development 7(4) 529ndash549
Manji F and OrsquoCoill C (2002) lsquoThe missionary position NGOs and developmentin Africarsquo International Affairs 78(3) 567ndash583
Mayhew S H (2005) lsquoHegemony politics and ideology the role of legislation inNGO-government relations in Asiarsquo The Journal of Development Studies 41(5)727ndash758
Meyer J W Boli J Thomas G M and Ramirez F O (1977) World society andthe nation-statersquo American Journal of Sociology 103(1) 144ndash181
McCarthy J D and Wolfson M (1996) lsquoResource mobilization by local socialmovement organizations agency strategy and organization in the movementagainst drinking and drivingrsquo American Sociological Review 61(6) 1070ndash1088
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
34
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
McCarthy J D and Zald M N (1977) lsquoResource mobilization and social move-ments a partial theoryrsquo The American Journal of Sociology 82(6) 1212ndash1241
Migiro K (2013) lsquoKenyan MPs throw out bill capping foreign funding of NGOsrsquoaccessed on 6 January 2014 at httpallafricacomstories201312051472html
Murdie A and Davis D R (2012) lsquoShaming and blaming using events data to assessthe impact of human rights INGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 56(1) 1ndash16
Mutua M (1994) lsquoDomestic human rights organization in Africa problems andperspectivesrsquo Journal of Opinion 22 30ndash33
Mutua M (1997) lsquoAfrican human rights organizations questions of context andlegitimacyrsquo Africa Legal Aid July-September 9ndash13
Nelson P and Dorsey E (2003) lsquoAt the nexus of human rights and developmentnew methods and strategies of global NGOsrsquoWorld Development 31(12) 2013ndash2026
Okafor O C (2006) Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs Lessons from Nigeria Tren-ton NJ Africa World Press
Odinkalu C A (1999) lsquoWhy more Africans donrsquot use human rights languagersquoHuman Rights Dialogue 2(1) Accessed on 10 October 2012 at wwwcarnegiecouncilorgresourcespublicationsdialogue2_01articles602html
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) lsquodevelopmentaid at a glance statistics by region Africarsquo Accessed on 5 September 2012 athttpwwwoecdorgdacaidstatisticsaidstatisticsstatisticsbyregion2012aidataglancehtm
Patton M Q (2001) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods 3rd ed SageThousand Oaks
Petras J (1999) lsquoNGOs in the service of imperialismrsquo Journal of Contemporary Asia29(4) 429ndash440
Pew Forum on Religion amp Public Life (2010) Tolerance and Tension Islam and Chris-tianity in Sub-Saharan Africa Washington DC Pew Research Center
Pfeffer J and Salancik G A (2003) The External Control of Organizations AResource Dependence Perspective Stanford Stanford University Press
Powell W W and DiMaggio P J (1991) The New Institutionalism in OrganizationalAnalysis Chicago Chicago University Press
Prakash A and Gugerty M K (2010) lsquoTrust but verify Voluntary regulationprograms in the nonprofit sectorrsquo Regulation amp Governance 4 22ndash47
Rahmato D (2002) lsquoCivil society organizations in Ethiopiarsquo in B Zewde and SPausewang (eds) Ethiopia The Challenge of Democracy From Below UppsalaSweden and Addis Ababa Ethiopia The Nordic Africa Institute and theForum for Social Studies
Rahmato D (2010) lsquoCivil society and the state the challenge of democratizationin Ethiopiarsquo in B Moyo (ed) (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere Civil Society Regu-lation in Africa Midrand South Africa Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica
Rahmato D Bantirgu A and Endeshaw Y (2010) CSOsNGOs in Ethiopia Part-ners in Development and Good Governance A Study Commissioned by the CSOTask Force on Creating an Enabling Environmental for Civil Society in EthiopiaAddis Ababa CSO Task Force
Ramos H Ron J and Thoms O N T (2007) lsquoShaping the northern mediarsquoshuman rights coverage 1986-2000rsquo Journal of Peace Research 44(4) 385ndash406
Reimann K D (2006) lsquoA view from the top international politics norms and theworldwide growth of NGOsrsquo International Studies Quarterly 50 45ndash67
Risse-Kappen T (ed) (2005) Bringing Transnational Relations Back In Non-StateActors Domestic Structures and International Institutions Cambridge Cam-bridge University Press
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
35
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
Ron James Ramos H and Rodgers K (2005) ldquoTransnational InformationPolitics NGO Human Rights Reporting 1986ndash2000rdquo International StudiesQuarterly 49 557ndash587
Ron J and Crow D (forthcoming) lsquoWho trusts local human rights organizationsEvidence from three world regionsrsquo Human Rights Quarterly
Sell S and Prakash A (2004) lsquoUsing ideas strategically examining the contestbetween business and NGO networks in intellectual property rightsrsquo Interna-tional Studies Quarterly 48 143ndash175
Singh J V House R J and Tucker D J (1986) lsquoOrganizational change and orga-nizational mortalityrsquo Administrative Science Quarterly 31 587ndash611
Skocpol T (2007) lsquoGovernment activism and the reorganization of American civicdemocracyrsquo in P Pierson and T Skocpol (eds) The Transformation of AmericanPolitics Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism Princeton PrincetonUniversity Press
Stiles K (2002) lsquoInternational support for NGOs in Bangladesh some unintendedconsequencesrsquoWorld Development 30(5) 835ndash846
Townsend J G Porter G and Mawdsley E (2002) lsquoThe role of the transnationalcommunity of non-government organizations governance or poverty reduc-tionrsquo Journal of International Development 14(6) 829ndash839
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2010) lsquo2009 NGOsustainability index for Sub-Saharan Africarsquo Accessed on 25 February 2011 athttpwwwusaidgovour_workdemocracy_and_governancetechnical_areascivil_societyangosi
Uvin P (1998) Aiding Violence The Development Enterprise in Rwanda West Hart-ford Conn Kumarian Press
Uvin P (2004) Human Rights and Development West Hartford Conn Kumarian PressVakil A C (1997) lsquoConfronting the classification problem toward a taxonomy of
NGOsrsquoWorld Development 25(12) 2057ndash2070Vaughn S and Tronvoll K (2003) The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian
Political Life Stockholm SIDA Studies No 10Wapner P (1995) lsquoPolitics beyond the state environmental activism and world
civic politicsrsquoWorld Politics 47 311ndash340Yeshanew S A (2012) lsquoCSO law in Ethiopia considering its constraints and con-
sequencesrsquo Journal of Civil Society 8(4) 369ndash384Yin D (2009) lsquoChinarsquos attitude toward foreign NGOsrsquo Washington University
Global Studies Law Review 8 521ndash543Zakaria F (1997) lsquoThe rise of illiberal democracyrsquo Foreign Affairs 76 22ndash43
APPENDIX 1 LIST OF KEY INFORMANTS
Our informants came from three different and prominent INGOs with Ethiopianoffices as well as six different local NGOs registered as either Ethiopian or Ethio-pian resident organizations The local NGOs varied in size and both the interna-tional and local NGOs worked in different sectors including education healthhuman rights conflict resolution legal aid and child protection as well as in gen-eral development and service delivery INGO informants were either executivedirectors or senior staff with detailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos impactson their own organizations and Ethiopian civil society
We also interviewed three high-ranking individuals from two differentlocally prominent NGO consortiums whose representatives were then in a
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
36
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
position to comment on the Proclamationrsquos effects To this we added two localacademics one foreign academic and one independent civil society expertengaged in analyzing the Proclamationrsquos effects as well as three internationaladvocacy NGOs operating outside the country but whose staff were knowledge-able about the Proclamation We interviewed 11 representatives from seven majorinternational donors and offices associated with or supported by these donorsAll worked with Ethiopian civil society issues and organizations and haddetailed knowledge of the Proclamationrsquos effects We also spoke with three inter-national advocacy organizations located outside of Ethiopia that had beeninvolved in transnational campaigns to reject the law Finally we interviewedtwo individuals from the governmentrsquos Charities and Societies Agency the entityresponsible for implementing the new laws
Interviewnumber Type of organization
Organizationalposition
Location andduration ofinterview
A1 Domestic humanrights organization
Employee (former) Addis Ababa15 hours
A2 Academic Senior researcher Addis Ababa1 hour
A3 Foreign donoragency
Program managerand deputyprogram manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A4 Foreign donoragency
Project coordinator Addis Ababa1 hour
A5 Foreign donoragency
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A6 InternationalNGO
Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A7 Domestic humanrights organization
High-levelrepresentative
Addis Ababa1 hour
A8 Independent researchorganization
Civil society expert general manager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A9 International NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A10 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A11 Domestic rights-basedorganization
Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A12 International NGO Countryrepresentative
Addis Ababa45 minutes
A13 Foreign donor agency Two high-levelrepresentativesand programmanager
Addis Ababa1 hour
A14 Foreign donor agency Program manager Addis Ababa15 hours
(continued)
DUPUY RON amp PRAKASH WHO SURVIVED
37
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014
A15 Umbrella NGO Program manager Addis Ababa30 minutes
A16 Foreign donor agency Advisor Addis Ababa45 minutes
A17 Charities and SocietiesAgency
2 seniorrepresentatives
Addis Ababa30 minutes
A18 Independent researchorganization
Senior researchfellow civilsociety expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A19 Foreign donor agency Program Advisorand ProgramOfficer
Addis Ababa1 hour
A20 Umbrella NGO Program coordinator Addis Ababa30 minutes
A21 Umbrella NGO Director Addis Ababa15 hours
A22 Domestic human rightsorganization
Director Addis Ababa30 minutes
A23 Higher educationinstitution
Senior researchercivil society expert
Addis Ababa1 hour
A24 Domestic human rightsorganization
Member Addis Ababa30 minutes
A25 International advocacyNGO
ProgramManager Telephone30 minutes
A26 International advocacyNGO
Vice President Telephone30 minutes
A27 International advocacyNGO
Program Director Telephone30 minutes
REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
38
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Uni
vers
ity o
f W
ashi
ngto
n L
ibra
ries
] at
09
44 2
2 A
pril
2014