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ID: 185622

Depoliticizing China's grassroots NGOs: state and civil society as an institutional field of power / Tian, Fengrui; Chuang, Julia

Chuang, Julia	Journal Article
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This article employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine two distinct processes of depoliticization by non-governmental organizations advocating rights for sex workers in China. Drawing upon Bourdieu and institutional theory, we argue that the consolidation of state repression of civil society under the Xi regime created an institutional field of power to which two NGOs responded differently. While one of them relied on government procurement as its major funding source, thus diluting the original mission, the other internalized state rhetoric as it sought political legitimacy through state certification, thus sanitizing its political mission. These distinct responses were then institutionalized into organizational practices, norms and culture. Rather than portraying NGOs in China as either capable political actors or pawns of an authoritarian state, this article illustrates how NGOs are subtly depoliticized by being inculcated in a state-produced, hierarchical social order in which compliance with state norms becomes synonymous with organizational competence.

Key Words

Civil Society ; NGOs ; China ; Sex Work ; Authoritarian Resilience ; Organizational Practices

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ID: 155444

Interpreting the organizational practices of North american democracy assistance / Christensen, Michael

Christensen, Michael	Journal Article
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This research examines the work of international experts who promote and support democratization projects funded by Western governments and nongovernmental organizations. Based on interviews and participant observation research with professionals working in democracy assistance organizations, this study investigates the “back stage” practices that shape democratization projects in organizational head offices. Drawing on the recent scholarship on international practices and the culture of organizations, this article examines the ways democracy assistance organizations carve a particular niche within the broader field of international development aid by structuring their projects according to a practical theory of democratization. The article fits in the recent critical tradition that examines the practices of international aid organizations and poses questions about the type of democracy that North American aid organizations are promoting.

Key Words

Organizational Practices ; North American Democracy Assistance ; International Experts

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