The NGO game : post-conflict peacebuilding in the Balkans and beyond / Patrice C. McMahon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McMahon, Patrice C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Peace-building--Former Yugoslav republics.

Peace-building.

Postwar reconstruction--Former Yugoslav republics.

Postwar reconstruction.

Non-governmental organizations--Former Yugoslav republics.

Non-governmental organizations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (221 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, New York ; London, [England] : Cornell University Press, 2017.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In most post-conflict countries nongovernmental organizations are everywhere, but their presence is misunderstood. In The NGO Game Patrice McMahon investigates the unintended outcomes of what she calls the NGO boom in Bosnia and Kosovo. Using her years of fieldwork and interviews, McMahon argues that when international actors try to rebuild and reconstruct post-conflict countries, they often rely on and look to NGOs. Although policymakers and scholars tend to accept and even celebrate NGO involvement in post-conflict and transitioning countries, they rarely examine why NGOs have become so popular, what NGOs do, or how they affect everyday life.After a conflict, international NGOs descend on a country, local NGOs pop up everywhere, and money and energy flow into strengthening the organizations. In time, the frenzy of activity slows, the internationals go home, local groups disappear from sight, and the NGO boom goes bust. Instead of peace and stability, the embrace of NGOs and the enthusiasm for international peacebuilding turns to disappointment, if not cynicism. For many in the Balkans and other post-conflict environments, NGOs are not an aid to building a lasting peace but are part of the problem because of the turmoil they foster during their life cycles in a given country. The NGO Game will be useful to practitioners and policymakers interested in improving peacebuilding, the role of NGOs in peace and development, and the sustainability of local initiatives in post-conflict countries.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction Booms and Busts in Peacebuilding

1. Uncertain Times

2. Of Power and Promises

3. Bosnia: Much Ado about NGOs

4. Kosovo: Copy, Paste, and Delete

Conclusion: The End of a Golden Era

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501712722

1501712721

9781501712739

150171273X

OCLC:

961266907