NGOs and International Development (LAWS90155)

 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in the field of international development, both as providers of services to vulnerable individuals, communities and governments and as advocates for policy changes and law reform. NGOs also play a role in cultural change and political reforms.

This subject provides a critical introduction to the wide-ranging topic of NGOs and development. In addition to critically examining the development context, we will consider the wide diversity of NGOs and their roles as well as interrogate their recent rise to prominence at the international level. This subject not only highlights the importance of NGOs in development, but it also engages with the criticisms that the increased profile of NGOs in development now attracts. It will also analyse how interest in NGOs has both reflected and informed wider theoretical trends and debates within development studies, before analysing NGOs and their practices.

In this subject we also examine the relationship of NGOs with governments and how this relationship impacts on national and popular sovereignty, service delivery and civil and political freedoms. Specific consideration will be given to the ways in which NGOs are increasingly important in relation to ideas and debates about ‘development’, ‘civil society’, democracy, and the changing ideas and practices of international aid. Students’ understanding of these themes will be deepened through critical explanations of international laws and institutions, Australian laws and policies as well as case study-based assessments.