DEVELOPMENT STUDY BASED ON INTERNATIONAL NGO’s

Development NGOs are key actors in international development and humanitarian assistance.
They are the first name people think of to get information about a situation they might see on the
news, to donate money to a particular emergency appeal. They operate at different scales and
have many different functions and 'theories of change' - a term used to describe their strategies
for how they aim to bring about change.

The term development NGO is used broadly to describe a particular type of organization that
works based on values in the field of international development. International NGOs have
historically (but not exclusively) originated in the global north and have evolved from small
church-based or secular organizations responding to specific crises, to large international
organizations with 'branches', and 'sister organizations' or federations in many areas. country.
However, to think that these organizations are exclusively based in the global north is deceiving.
For example, many organizations such as Action Aid, CIVICUS and Oxfam have moved
elements of their headquarters functions to countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the conceptual development of NGOs based on International Relations, many scholars have
argued that International NGOs should renegotiate their political positions as well as the way
they work because they increase horizontal and multi-level connections as a result of
technological change, in which people engage in new things. political behavior. International
NGOs not only claim their interests, but they have a seat at the political table in many key
development situations Wendy Harcourt (2012: 3). International NGOs are key actors in
international development and, through their fundraising, awareness-raising and campaigning,
they are the main mediators of international development for most people in the Northern
Hemisphere (Yanacopulos, 2015). Historically, INGOs have been ignored by most international
relations theorists. Ahmed and Potter (2006) argue that the reason for this is that International
NGOs cross the boundaries of academic disciplines and many disciplines, from anthropology,
geography, sociology and politics to management studies, have an interest in international
NGOs. As such, this means that they are explored from many perspectives, but this diversity of
interests also contributes to the absence of a unified INGO literature that can be 'easily
accommodated by mainstream theory in international relations' (Ahmed and Potter, 2006:9). But
DeMars and Dijkzeul (2015: 5) argue that it is the very nature of development NGOs that makes
them great candidates to bridge the seven major critical divisions in world politics; they argue
that INGOs can help to contribute to the conception and theory of international relations and
world politics because they can act as bridges in our thinking.

When we look at the broad groupings of international relations theory, starting with the Realists.
Actually, realists are not interested in development NGOs because realist theories are more
concerned with the national interest of the state and international security issues. While Liberal
theories with their focus on interstate cooperation, the development of international norms, the
influence of public opinion and the various outside actors involved in world politics, INGOs are
again conspicuously untheorized. While liberal theory may seem like a good starting point for
studying development INGOs because their goal is for a more peaceful world, the absence of
INGOs is still evident.

The most desirable theoretical field that considers and takes into account INGOs as political
actors is the field of constructivism. In constructivist theory, NGOs are the more organized
elements of transnational civil society, where NGOs are seen as agents of the voiceless
advocating for them at various levels of government.

However, if we step back from development theory and look at development INGOs from a
functional perspective, we see that they have two main functions in their operation, and while
these two functions are not mutually exclusive, there is generally some tension in how
development INGOs fulfill these roles. .

The broad operational functions of international NGOs consist of:

• as 'practice-based organisations', often stepping in where governments and international

organizations cannot fulfill a role, often referred to as 'service delivery; and

• as an 'influence organization' seeking to influence other national and international political

actors around issues of poverty, inequality and development.
To examine this first function, one of the main roles of developing international NGOs is to help
provide services to the poor in the Southern Hemisphere. The second function of development
INGOs, often highlighted boldly in their theories of change, revolves around changing people's
lives more than providing services.