Local Governments and NGOs in the South

Master's Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Development Politics, grade: 60-70%, University of Manchester (Institute of Development Politics and Management (IDPM)), course: Development Management, language: English, abstract: The dissertation critically discusses the partnership between local governments and 'Southern' NGOs (meaning local NGOs in developing countries), specifically looking at the effects that a close cooperation can have on the poor. Through the analysis of the key literature and selected case studies the argument is developed that fostering a certain type of partnership under favourable conditions may contribute to poverty reduction efforts in a local context. The paper examines the interaction between the two actors in the decision-making and implementation process of public policies, mainly drawing on the concept of good local governance. Here, ideas of decentralisation and civil society play an important role and nowadays often constitute an integral part of poverty reduction programmes in developing countries. The first chapter of the dissertation focuses on this linkage between local governance (including NGO participation) and improvements in public policy outcomes for local communities. Subsequently, different types of partnership between local governments and NGOs are presented and the assumed ideal-type for poverty reduction is pointed out. Specific case studies from Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia are applied. These provide the basis for the last chapter, addressing the question of how close the cooperation between local authorities and NGOs should be in order to achieve pro-poor outcomes in local communities.