| ID | 136995 |
| Title Proper | How Chinese labour NGOs legitimize their identity and voice |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Gleiss, Marielle Stigum |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article analyses the legitimation strategies of Chinese labour non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Given the relative newness of NGOs as an organizational form in China and the precarious space they operate in, their survival and development are not primarily a question of establishing autonomy and avoiding state control, as emphasized in the literature on Chinese associations, but rather a question of being perceived as legitimate social actors. This article conceptualizes legitimation as a form of communication in which NGOs articulate discursive elements in specific ways in order to legitimize their identity and voice. Drawing on interviews with 15 labour NGOs working with migrant workers, the article identifies three aspects of NGOs’ legitimation work. First, the NGOs construct their identity and work as social and not political in nature, thus underscoring that they are non-governmental and not anti-governmental organizations. Second, the NGOs give voice to, or represent, migrant workers and their interests by engaging in different forms of advocacy. Third, the NGOs legitimize their voice by referring to their proximity to workers at the grass roots and their specialist knowledge about migrant workers’ living and working conditions. In conclusion, the article argues that issues of power and discourse should be brought into the study of NGOs’ legitimation work. |
| `In' analytical Note | China Information Vol.28, No.3, Nov.2014: p.362-381 |
| Journal Source | China Information 2014-12 28, 3 |
| Standard Number | China |