Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T10:18:40.609Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Difficult Partnerships: The World Bank, States, and NGOs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Deborah A. Bräutigam  and
Monique Segarra
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, World Bank officials in many countries have pressed their government borrowers to include nongovernmental organizations as development partners. What impact has this new partnership norm had in the bank's borrower countries, and why? This article investigates these questions through longitudinal analysis of three cases: Guatemala, Ecuador, and the Gambia. In their first iteration in the 1990s, these bank-sponsored efforts generally failed to take root; yet by the 2000s, NGOs and state actors were engaged in multiple partnerships. This article suggests that over time, bank officials' repeated efforts to embed these new ideas fostered a social learning process that led NGOs to adopt more strategic partnership practices and government officials to see NGO partners as useful. Several factors may affect this learning process: levels of professionalism and the growth of professional networks, the presence of effective “bridge builders,” and the level of historical conflicts.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 49 , Issue 4 , Winter 2007 , pp. 149 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asociación de Instituciones de Desarollo y Servicios (ASINDES). 1995. Former Director. Author interview. Guatemala City, November.Google Scholar
Bain, Katherine. 2004. Regional Civil Society Team Leader and Senior Social Scientist, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank. Author interview. Washington, Dc, February.Google Scholar
Bermeo, Nancy. 1992. Democracy and the Lessons of Dictatorship. Comparative Politics 24, 3 (April): 273–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bob, Clifford. 2005. The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and Political Action. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Michael. 1989. The Politics of Government-Ngo Relations in Africa. World Development 17, 4 (April): 569–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnside, Craig, and David, Dollar. 2000. Aid, Policies, and Growth. American Economic Review 90, 4 (September): 847–68.Google Scholar
Casaburi, Gabriel, Riggirozzi, María Pia, María Fernanda, Tuozzo, and Diana, Tussie. 2000. Multilateral Development Banks, Governments, and Civil Society: Chiaroscuros in a Triangular Relationship. Global Governance 6: 493–517.Google Scholar
Checkel, Jeffrey. 2001. Why Comply? Social Learning and European Identity Change. International Organization 55, 3 (September): 553–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Covey, Jane. 1998. Is Critical Cooperation Possible? Influencing the World Bank through Operational Collaboration and Policy Dialogue. in Fox and Brown 1998.Google Scholar
Domingo, Lina V. 1988. Memo. Aftph to Mr. Florent Agueh, Chief, Aftph, the Gambia: Women's Development Project Identification Mission Back-to-Office Report. February 26, 1988.Google Scholar
Drazen, Alan. 2002. Conditionality and Ownership in IMF Lending: A Political Economy Approach. IMF Staff Papers 49. Washington, DC: IMF. 36–67. Also available online at http://www.imf.orgexternalpubsftstaffp200100-00pdfad.pdf.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha. 1993. International Organizations as Teachers of Norms: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and Science Policy. International Organization 47, 4 (Autumn): 565–98.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha, and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization 52, 4 (Autumn): 887–917.Google Scholar
Fox, Jonathan. 2000. The World Bank Inspection Panel: Lessons from the First Five Years. Global Governance 6, 3 (July-September): 279–318.Google Scholar
Fox, Jonathan, and David, Brown, eds. 1998. The Struggle for Accountability. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Birger, Fredriksen. 1988. Acting Chief, Population and Human Resources Division, Sahelian Countries Department, World Bank, Washington, Dc. Letter to Ms. Sarah Timpson, Director, Ngo Division, United Nations Development Programme, Geneva. November 16.Google Scholar
Garrison, John. 2000. From Confrontation to Collaboration: Civil Society-Government-World Bank Relations in Brazil. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. Also available at http://wbln0018.worldbank.org lac/lacinfoclient.nsf/Category/By+Category/35E8FC911BA6CC6B852569610066BB2C?OpenDocument.Google Scholar
George, Alexander L., and Andrew, Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Goldman, Michael. 2005. Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Government of the Gambia. 2003. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper/Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Ii (Prsp/Spa Ii). Annual Progress Report. July 2002-December 2003.Google Scholar
Gutner, Tamar. 2005. World Bank Environmental Reform: Revisiting Lessons from Agency Theory. International Organization 59, 3 (Summer): 773–83.Google Scholar
Haas, Peter M. 1992. Introduction: Epistemic Communities and International Policy Coordination. International Organization 46, 1 (Winter): 1–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Peter. 1993. Policy Paradigms, Social Learning, and the State: the Case of Economic Policymaking in Britain. Comparative Politics 25, 3 (April): 275–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayter, Teresa. 1971. Aid as Imperialism. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Henin, Chris. 1992. Civil Society Officer, Ngo Unit Latin America, International Economic Relations Division, Operations Policy Department, World Bank. Author interview. Washington, Dc, June.Google Scholar
Hernández, Mónica. 1993. Director, Fundación Alternativa. Author interview. Quito, June 2.Google Scholar
Hochstetler, Kathryn. 2002. After the Boomerang: Environmental Movements and Politics in the La Plata River Basin. Global Environmental Politics 2, 4: 35–57.Google Scholar
Hulme, David, and Michael, Edwards. 1997. NGOs, States, and Donors: An Overview. In NGOs, States, and Donors: Too Close for Comfort? ed. Hulme, and Edwards, . New York: St. Martin's Press. 3–22.Google Scholar
Hunter, Wendy, and David, S. Brown. 2000. World Bank Directives, Domestic Interests, and the Politics of Human Capital Investment in Latin America. Comparative Political Studies 33, 1 (February): 113–43.Google Scholar
Ibrahim, Saad Eddine. 1998. Nurturing Civil Society at the World Bank: An Assessment of Staff Attitudes Toward Civil Society. World Bank Social Development Papers 24. September. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Jarrin, Soledad. 1992. Fundación Alternativa. Author interview. Quito, August 10, 1992.Google Scholar
Karakras, Ampam. 2006. Project Manager, Prodepine. Author interview. Quito, April 18.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, Daniel, Aart, Kraay, and Massimo, Mastruzzi. 2007. Governance Matters VI: Governance Indicators for 1996–2006. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4280. Washington, DC: World Bank. July.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret, and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Killick, Tony. 1998. The “Ownership” Problem. In Aid and the Political Economy of Policy Change. London: Overseas Development Institute. 85–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larreamendy, Pilar. 2002. Civil Society Specialist, World Bank. Author interview. Quito, June.Google Scholar
Larreamendy, Pilar. 2004. Author interview. Quito, February.Google Scholar
Larreamendy, Pilar. 2006. Author interview. Quito, March.Google Scholar
Levy, Jack. 1994. Learning and Foreign Policy: Sweeping a Conceptual Minefield. International Organization 48, 2 (Spring): 279–303.Google Scholar
Malefakis, Michael. 1990. Steps Toward a Social Investment Fund: Negotiations Involving Nongovernmental Organizations, the Government of Guatemala, and the World Bank. New York: PACT.Google Scholar
Malena, Carmen. 2000. Beneficiaries, Mercenaries, Missionaries and Revolutionaries: Unpacking Ngo Involvement in World Bank Financed Projects. IDS Bulletin 31, 3 (July): 19–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mallaby, Sebastian. 2004. The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. New York: Penguin Press.Google Scholar
March, James, and Olsen, Johan. 2004. The Logic of Appropriateness. Arena Working Paper series, Wp 04/09. January.Google Scholar
Marroquin, Mario. 2004. World Bank Civil Society Officer for Central America. Author interview. Guatemala City, May 14.Google Scholar
McCoy, Jennifer L., ed. 2000. Political Learning and Redemocratization in Latin America: Do Politicians Learn from Political Crisis? Coral Gables: North-South Center Press.Google Scholar
Neilson, Daniel, Tierney, Michael, and Weaver, Catherine. 2006. Bridging the Rationalist-Constructivist Divide: Engineering Change in the World Bank. Journal of International Relations and Development 9, 3 (June): 107–39.Google Scholar
Nelson, Paul J. 1995. The World Bank and Non-Governmental Organizations: The Limits of Apolitical Development. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Paredes, Pablo Lucio. 1995. Planning Minister, Conade (1992–94). Author interview. Quito, August 24.Google Scholar
Pierson, Paul. 2004. Politics in Time: History, Institutions, and Social Analysis. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Place, Susanna. 1988. Memorandum to Lina Domingo, AFTPN. The Gambia: Women's Development Project—Project Brief. Washington, DC: World Bank February 22.Google Scholar
PRS Group. 1997. International Country Risk Guide. New York: IBC USA Publications.Google Scholar
Ramón, Gallo. 2006. Staff Manager, Prodepine. Author interview. Quito, March 13.Google Scholar
Segarra, Monique. 1997. Redefining the Public/Private Mix: NGOs and the Emergency Social Investment Fund in Ecuador. In The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation, ed. Douglas, Chalmers et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 489–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Association of NGOs (TANGO). 1998. It Takes More than One to Tango: Strengthening Ngos in the Gambia. UNV News 81 (September). http://www.unv.orginfobaseunv_news19988198_09_81GMB_ngo.htm Accessed July 2000.Google Scholar
Touray, Abdou. 2002. Chairman, Gambia National Ngo Coordination Board. Author telephone interview. January 9.Google Scholar
Tussie, Diana, and Gabriel, Casaburi. 2000. From Global to Local Governance: Civil Society and the Multilateral Development Banks. Global Governance 6, 4 (October-December): 399–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uquillas, Jorge. 2006. Senior Sociologist, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Department, World Bank. Author interview. Quito, March 17.Google Scholar
Van der Heijden, Hendrik, 1988. Memorandum to Mrs. Lina Domingo: The Gambia: Proposed Women's Development Project, Mission Report. Washington, DC: World Bank. November 10.Google Scholar
Verdesoto, Luis. 1995. Director, Foro de la Cuidadania, Fundación Esquel. Author interview. Quito, March.Google Scholar
Vitagliano, Bruna. 1987. The Gambia—Women in Development (WID) Mission, May 5–26. Back-To-Office Report. Washington, DC: World Bank. June 3.Google Scholar
Wade, Robert. 1997. Greening the Bank: The Struggle over the Environment, 1970–1995. In The World Bank: Its First Half Century, ed. Devesh, Kapur, John, P. Lewis, and Richard, Webb. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 611–736.Google Scholar
Weaver, Catherine, and Leiteritz, Ralf J. . 2005. Our Poverty Is a World Full of Dreams: Reforming the World Bank. Global Governance 11, 3 (July-September): 369–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 1988. Collaboration with Nongovernmental Organizations. Operational Manual Statement no. 5.30. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1990. Staff Appraisal Report: Republic of the Gambia, Women in Development Project. Population and Human Resources Operations Division, Africa Region. April 30.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1994. Staff Appraisal Report, Ecuador, Third Social Development Project Social Investment Fund. Report no. 12436-EC. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1998. Implementation Completion Report: Republic of The Gambia, Women in Development Project. (Credit 2141-GM), Appendix B. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1999. Cooperation Between the World Bank and NGOs: FY98 Progress Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2001. Comprehensive Development Framework, Questions and Answers, Update. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2005. The Gambia PRSP Annual Progress Report: Joint Staff Advisory Note. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2006. Participation at Project, Program, and Policy Level. Social Development Department, Participation and Civic Engagement Group. http://www.worldbank.orgparticipationtoolsmethodspartmethods.htm Accessed June 2006.Google Scholar
World Bank Official. 2002. Author interview. Washington, Dc, January 28.Google Scholar
World Bank Official. 2004. Author interview. Washington, Dc, May 13.Google Scholar
World Bank Consultant. 2002. Author telephone interview. March 7.Google Scholar