Letters to the editor

[ What is civil society?
D+C 2003:5, p. 195 ]

NGOs legitimate partners
For Frank Bliss, NGO legitimacy hinges on whether and to what extent these organisations represent certain population groups. The claim to do so does not form part of any NGO definition, however, and it is amazing that the author should seek this particular characteristic in a non-governmental organisation. Assessing NGOs on the basis of membership is a pretty pointless exercise because they do not lay claim to having one. An example: the human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) focuses primarily on securing the release of political prisoners. AI does not claim to have been appointed by the prisoners or to be their legitimate representative and hardly anyone is interested in how many members it has. AI gets a hearing because it champions a widely endorsed cause, researches its cases well and operates as an effective lobby. In the context of local development NGOs, this means it does not matter how many members or beneficiaries an organisation has; what counts is the quality of its work.

I find it incomprehensible that Frank Bliss should object to NGOs being consulted on the formulation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). They are consulted, listened to; they are not asked to vote on PRSP paragraphs in place of the people’s elected representatives. What is more, NGOs playing a role in development cooperation are not exactly a phenomenon dating back only a few years, as Professor Bliss seems to think. Ten years ago, a certain amount of euphoria broke out among donors, who turned their backs on state bureaucracies in disappointment and started to cooperate more extensively with NGOs. However, that euphoria long ago gave way to the sobering realisation that cooperation with NGOs is not the ground-breaking answer to challenges like poverty reduction either. Even in multinational institutions like the World Bank, though, NGOs have become normal partners – partners with strengths and weaknesses, just like government agencies and private consultancy firms.
Olaf Neussner, Cebu City, Philippines.

Reply by Frank Bliss:
As Olaf Neussner is no doubt aware, many development NGOs that push to the fore as opinion-formers in developing countries can neither represent nor take the place of local civil society. My criticism is that they have been regarded and embraced for some PRS processes as virtually the only representatives of civil society. The far more important membership organisations, which have a certain degree of legitimacy, do not get a look-in. As for Mr Neussner’s second point, it confirms what I said myself. I have never complained that NGOs used as development agencies are a new phenomenon. What many donor organisations today fail to realise, however, is that NGOs are not necessarily better multipliers/mediators than government agencies - because many of them do not fit our definition of an NGO; they are tax-saving models for young entrepreneurs.


[ Half-hearted policy –
half-hearted participation,
D+C 2003:5, p. 200 ]

Too negative a view
On the whole, Tillmann Elliesen paints an accurate picture of the current situation in his article about the Indo-German water supply project in West Bengal but I feel he takes a somewhat too negative view of the prospects. As well as the difficulties experienced, he should also have pointed out the and successes that have been achieved in the project so far and are still being achieved now. It must not be forgotten that we are breaking totally new ground here: realising active water supply management by user groups and local authorities. That, however, means changing a lot of traditional attitudes: the social attitudes of users and local authorities’ attitudes towards technology and business management.

I do not much like the title of the article. It suggests to the reader a priori a negative attitude on the part of the project participants. This is not the prevalent attitude. On the contrary, all those involved in the project are doing their best according to their experience to achieve the objective of the project. Of course there are problems, but the team of advisers on the spot is there to solve them. ‘Difficulties’ can be overcome but ‘half-heartedness’ is a sin.
Friedrich Seute, Bolpur & Raghunathpur Water Supply Project, Bolpur-Santiniketan, India


[ After the war in Iraq:
before a new world order?
D+C 2003:5, p. 185 ]

Paper tiger United Nations
In his comment, Thomas Bruha writes “The war against Iraq has shattered trust in the validity of law in international relations.” From this statement it would appear that he feels, in no uncertain terms, that the US led Iraq conflict was the only reason “trust” has been lost for the law as it currently exists under the UN charter.

However, the UN’s ‘paper tiger’ outlook on its own resolutions did far more to undermine international law than any illusions of ‘hegemonic’ ideology that can be thrown at the US. The UN has repeatedly ignored outright attacks on its legitimacy and authority and sought appeasement at all costs, usually falling in the favor of the aggressor. Even under UN mandate its forces ignore the safety of those it professes to protect under the guise of ‘peacekeepers’ as was the case at Srebrenica. The Dutch could not fire unless fired upon according to UN mandate and instead fled, over the bodies of those it was to protect, because no force was authorized. From my perspective this was a major breach of legitimacy for the UN. And it does not stop with the former Yugoslavia, it goes on around the world, anywhere the UN presence is found.

As I see it the US ‘felt’ that its interests and safety were being broached, whether a correct assumption or not, and the UN had set precedent since its inception following World War II that its resolutions were nothing more than philosophies to be spoken but not enforced. So who holds the greater sin for Iraq? According to a professor of theory, the US. According to fact, the world powers and their intelligent entourage who allow a bureacracy such as the UN to continue to exist in its current form.
Garrick Rodemeyer, Belize