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Do the large international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) act as independent bod...
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Do the large international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) act as independent bodies seeking to influence government and corporate policies in conformity with their stated values or, as a growing number of leftist critics contend, are they beholden to their state financial sponsors and carrying out their activities in concordance with the foreign policy goals of these sponsors? The answer of Stoddard (Center on International Cooperation, New York U.) is somewhere in between, arguing that the large humanitarian NGOs do have a significant influence on government policy, but as field-level information sources and technical advisors, not as advocacy groups. She pursues this argument through case studies of US foreign policy towards Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo, concluding that information from NGOs helps shape policy-makers perceptions and initial reactions, but that they tend to get shunted aside as the government becomes more political engaged with the issue. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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