Article
Civil Society Influence on International Organizations: Theorizing the State Channel
Journal of Civil Society
(2014)
Abstract
The literature on transnational civil society tends to treat civil society organizations (CSOs) as independent actors, accomplishing policy change largely through moral force or popular pressure. However, a significant portion of CSO successes in policy advocacy actually utilizes alliances with state actors. To understand the implications of this ‘state channel’ of CSO influence, we develop a new model of CSO use of state influence. We identify four factors that determine whether the state channel is accessible for CSOs to use and is likely to produce more effective CSO influence than direct CSO engagement with the international organization (IO): the porousness of the targeted states and IOs, the availability of contacts, the possibility for alignment of interests, and the relative power of aligned state and IO contacts. We illustrate this theory using four case studies of civil society engagement: two case studies involving the World Bank and two involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Our analysis suggests that the factors determining CSOs' successful use of the state channel currently tend to favour a small number of well-resourced, reformist CSOs from porous and powerful states.
Keywords
- civil society organiztions,
- states,
- international organizations,
- global governance,
- democracy,
- policy-making,
- World Bank,
- ASEAN
Disciplines
Publication Date
May 28, 2014
DOI
10.1080/17448689.2014.921102
Citation Information
Christopher Pallas and Anders Uhlin. "Civil Society Influence on International Organizations: Theorizing the State Channel" Journal of Civil Society Vol. 10 Iss. 2 (2014) p. 184 - 203 ISSN: 1744-8697 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christopher-pallas/4/