The failures of success: NGOs and the decreasing support for civil society in Namibia

Hoehn, S. (2008) The failures of success: NGOs and the decreasing support for civil society in Namibia. Political Perspectives, 2(1),

Abstract

The article focuses on the narratives and practices of a shrinking NGO sector in Namibia. It argues that looking at NGOs decline instead of their rise can yield valuable new insights for the study of non-governmental organizations. It shows the ways in which decline in funding had an impact on the NGOs’ relations with the state and international donors and how such decline affected the organisations’ internal practices. The main aim of the paper is to contribute to the growing ethnographic literature on NGOs in Africa by highlighting the role of outside factors, above all a changing perception of the Namibian state as democratically consolidated, in determining the relations between NGOs, the state and donors and re-shaping NGOs’ everyday practices.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Special issue: New Perspectives on Africa
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hoehn, Dr Sabine
• Authors: Hoehn, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
• Journal Name: Political Perspectives
• Publisher: University of Manchester
• ISSN: 2049-081X