Mapping Civil Society in the Digital Age: Critical Reflections From a Project Based in the Global South

Initiatives to map nonprofit organizations encompass efforts to define the boundaries of the sector and understand its scope and scale. As new technologies make it possible to digitize and analyze information in new ways, further questions about mapping civil society emerge. We integrate nonprofit scholarship, critical work on computational methods, and reflection on our experiences using machine learning to map nongovernmental organizations in Ghana, to develop a critical framework for mapping civil society in the digital age. The issues we raise about computational methods are embedded within greater concerns about the taken-for-granted assumptions in mapping civil society, and mapping as a tool to control, manage, and manipulate civil society. We are particularly attentive to the power within mapping as a mode of knowledge production.

NGO Regulation: Themes and Debates with Reference to Nepal

Since the 1980s, due to the failure of previous development strategies, nongovernmental organizations have emerged as major actors in development, particularly in developing countries like Nepal. However, in recent years, most countries have perceived that NGOs are not operating genuinely to fulfill their expected goals. In this context, this paper set out to answer two questions: why NGOs tend to represent donors' preferences and why developing countries like Nepal become unable to adopt strict NGO regulations. It is based on the analysis of archival documents and review of previous study findings and draws insights from resource dependence theory. It concludes that when NGOs depend on external donors for financial resources, they are compelled to represent donor's interests. Similarly, aid-dependent developing countries like Nepal often hesitate to adopt strict NGO regulations because of the fear of external pressure from their donor agencies. Thus, resource dependency makes both NGOs and the governments unable to resist the pressure of donor agencies. Its conclusions can be useful to adopt an appropriate framework to regulate NGOs in Nepal.

The Images of China and Britain in the Syrian Media

China and Britain have contrasting images in the official and unofficial Syrian media. By analysing relevant news stories, this study reveals that China’s involvement in the Syrian crisis as covered by the Syrian media is usually limited to governmental affairs, while Britain’s involvement covered by the Syrian media, especially the “revolutionary” outlet, figures in a relatively wider range of diverse nongovernmental happenings including activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the media. Most importantly, the study finds that the “revolutionary” outlet Enab Baladi is apt to present Chinese involvement as negative, but presents British involvement as positive, while the government-backed news agency SANA portrays a completely positive image of China and a fundamentally negative image of Britain.

Project-Think and the Fragmentation and Defragmentation of Civil Society in Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey

By drawing from authors’ fieldwork in Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey, this article critically examines perceptions of project-think among civic organizations in the Middle East. As a managerial rationality, project-think has four key components: (a) a prioritization of discrete needs and discrete groups, (b) an orientation toward funding, (c) a focus on short-term and measurable results, and (d) the positioning of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as career ladders. Through unpacking these four components, we find that project-think is perceived to contribute to the fragmentation of civil society by fracturing social issues, dividing the NGO sector, isolating organizational energy, and complicating relations between groups. Simultaneously, we demonstrate that, civic actors use various strategies to circumvent the perceived impacts of fragmentation. By mapping these intertwined meanings and experiences of fragmentation and defragmentation, this study contributes to debates concerning the political effects of managerialism among civil society in the Global South.

Indigenous language and culture visibility in the digital age

This forum is dedicated to exploring the notion of meaningfulness in design processes, taking the perspectives of community groups, nongovernmental organizations, and those who are marginalized in society as starting points. Authors will reflect conceptually and methodologically on practical engagements. --- Rosanna Bellini and Angelika Strohmayer, Editors

Participation of nongovernmental organizations in Iran's health-care system: challenges and suggestions for improvement

PurposeNongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role in modern health-care systems complementing state organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study was conducted in 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 26 participants: 11 managers and experts at the office of NGOs in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and universities of medical sciences and 15 chief executive officers (CEOs) of health-related NGOs in Tehran, Iran. The participants were chosen using the non-probabilistic approach of purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data analysis was performed using the thematic analysis method and MAXQDA 10 software.FindingsChallenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system are categorized into external and internal challenges. Financial issues, the process of getting permissions, lack of trust in NGOs, weak relationships with the public sector and lack of law are identified as main challenges. Building trust in NGOs, passing the NGOs' law, making people more familiar with NGOs and capacity development are the most important measures that improve the role of NGOs and resolve barriers to their participation in Iran's health-care system.Originality/valueIn this study, for the first time, the challenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system are investigated by examining the views of both the public sector and NGOs. Improving the participation of NGOs in the health-care system provides Iran's MOH with the opportunity to make use of the NGOs' capacities to eliminate public health issues.