Agents of Change, Actors of Power: The Paradox of NGOs in South Asia

This book unveils how donor dependence and geopolitics influence the motives and activities of South Asian NGOs while operating in diverse development discourse, developing a superiority-complex challenge in upholding their core values. In doing so, the book covers the historical evolution of NGOs, their power dynamics and relationships with the state and other stakeholders, their corporatization-driven autonomy and its implications for neo-imperialism, their accountability to their beneficiaries and the state, their responses to the decline or deterioration of quality public institutions or policies, and their advocacy for empowerment of people and communities.

The book also identifies factors that influence the effectiveness and impact of NGO work in South Asia, such as political and economic factors, rent-seeking opportunities, overlapping notions of empowerment, public consciousness of interests or values, exit or voice options, loyalty or attachment to public institutions or policies, state responsiveness or repression, foreign donors or international organizations, and regional or global geopolitics. Furthermore, it sheds light upon the potential to promote sustainable and inclusive development outside these politically sensitive power paradigms for NGOs.