Evaluating Transnational NGOs - Legitimacy, Accountability, Representation

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come to play a key role in global and European governance. With this new influence and visibility many have begun to worry about their legitimacy and accountability. Critics question the representativeness of NGOs, the democratic quality of their internal procedures, and their accountability to the wider public. This volume, written jointly by academics and practitioners, clarifies the issues at stake and controversially discusses proposals for reform. Political theorists debate which forms of accountability and legitimacy are applicable to transnational NGOs and what concept of representation may mean in this context. Practitioners focus on restoring NGO accountability and the repercussions that the new demand for legitimacy and accountability may have on their work. The challenge is to make transnational NGOs more responsive to their members and those affected by their advocacy without overly taxing their limited resources and bureaucratizing their work.

Introduction: Transnational NGOs and Legitimacy, Accountability, Representation; J.Steffek& K.Hahn PART I: NGO LEGITIMACY The Debate on NGOs' Legitimacy: What Can we Learn from the Classics?; L.Schrader& T.Denskus Legitimating INGO Advocacy: The Case of Internal Democracies; D.Halpin& P.Mc Laverty The Link between Standard-Setting NGOs' Legitimacy and Effectiveness: An Exploration of Social Mechanisms; M.Beisheim& K.Dingwerth Assessing the Democratic Legitimacy of Transnational NGOs: Five Criteria; J.Steffek, R.Bendrath, S.Dalferth, K.Hahn, M.Piewitt& M.Rodekamp PART II: NGO ACCOUNTABILITY These Pages have been Regulated for You: Issues Arising from the Governance of Markets by NGOs; J.Bendell, P.Jay& M.Bendell Accountability 2.0: In Search for a New Approach to International Non-Governmental Organizations' Accountability; M.Havrda& P.Kutilek PART III: REPRESENTATION THROUGH NGOS? Representing the People? NGOs in International Negotiations; T.Brühl Regulating NGO Participation in the EU; A De-Facto Accreditation System Built on 'Representativeness'?'; J.Greenwood NGOs' Power of Advocacy: The Construction of Identities in UN Counter-Human Trafficking Policies; K.Hahn PART IV: CONCLUSIONS Evaluating NGOs: A Practitioner's Perspective; R.Heggli Evaluating NGOs: Prospects for Academic Analysis; J.Steffek& K.Hahn