Description
Book SynopsisWhy are some international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) more politically salient than others, and why are some NGOs better able to influence the norms of human rights? Internal Affairs shows how the organizational structures of human rights NGOs and their campaigns determine their influence on policy. Drawing on data from seven major international organizationsthe International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins sans Frontières, Oxfam International, Anti-Slavery International, and the International League of Human RightsWendy H. Wong demonstrates that NGOs that choose to centralize agenda-setting and decentralize the implementation of that agenda are more successful in gaining traction in international politics.
Challenging the conventional wisdom that the most successful NGOs are those that find the right cause or have the most resources, Wong shows that how NGOs make and implement decisions is critical to their eff
Trade Review
Offers fascinating and important insights into the impact of intra-organizational dynamics on international politics. It deserves to be read widely by scholars and students interested in NGOs, advocacy networks and organizational theory.
-- Angela M. Crack * Voluntas *
Political scientist Wendy Wong's Internal Affairs offers an important empirical approach that focuses on the organizational structure of internationally oriented NGOs all headquartered in the global North to explain why they, and the issues that they do promote, are not equally influential in terms of their impact on human rights.... [Wong] examines a variety of transnational campaigns as a separate unit of observation for comparative analysis, enabling her to independently assess the political salience of the ideas that these organizations sponsor.
-- John G. Dale * American Journal of Sociology *
What makes a human right relevant on the world stage? Is it its inherent moral value? Or is its relevance a product of marketing, funding, or the magnetic capabilities of a charismatic leader? Internal Affairs suggests we turn our attention to the structural design of NGOs in order to understand what distinguishes those human rights issues that are championed as international concerns from those that barely make a ripple. At the crux of this well written and easily assignable text stands the notion that the success of a rights-campaign hinges on its structure. The book will be a valuable contribution to the scholarly libraries of anthropologists, political scientists, and international relations experts, while also serving as an indispensable tool for rights-based practitioners.
-- Erica Bornstein * Human Rights Quarterly *
Wong's prose is clear and well organized, her evidence carefully presented, and her argument compelling. Researchers in political science, international relations, sociology, anthropology, and public policy, as well as those engaged in human rights activism will welcome the theoretical and substantive contributions of Internal Affairs.
* Mobilization *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Internal Affairs and External Influence1. Salience in Human Rights2. The Importance of Organizational Structure3. Amnesty International: The NGO That Made Human Rights Important4. Other Models of Advocating Change5. Using Campaigns to Examine Organizational and Ideational SalienceConclusionNotes
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