Downward Accountability in Unequal Alliances: Explaining NGO Responses to Zapatista Demands

Abigail Andrews

World Development, 2014, vol. 54, issue C, 99-113

Abstract: This paper examines the conditions that foster downward accountability among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). To do so, I compare how NGOs responded in an unusual case where, from 1999–2003, the Zapatista Movement demanded more say over projects. I compare 77 NGOs, some that dropped out and others that accommodated the movement’s demands. I argue that funders' reporting requirements inhibited NGOs from being responsive to beneficiaries. However, living alongside the movement pushed inner-circle NGOs to practice downward accountability to sustain their legitimacy. In turn, horizontal pressure among NGOs influenced organizations further afield, especially those that identified closely with the movement.

Keywords: downward accountability; NGOs; transnational social movements; legitimacy; Mexico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:54:y:2014:i:c:p:99-113

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.07.009

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