Editing Non-governmental organization (section)

===Foreign influence===
{{see also|Foreign funding of NGOs}}
NGOs have been accused of preserving [[imperialism]]<ref>[http://antieviction.org.za/related-writing-and-resources/rethinking-public-participation-from-below/ Abahlali baseMjondolo, "Rethinking Public Participation from below"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322205607/http://antieviction.org.za/related-writing-and-resources/rethinking-public-participation-from-below/ |date=22 March 2010 }}, ''Critical Dialogue'' (2006)</ref> (sometimes operating in a [[Racialization|racialized]] manner in [[Third World]] countries), with a function similar to that of the clergy during the colonial era. Political philosopher [[Peter Hallward]] has called them an aristocratic form of politics,<ref>{{cite book|last = Hallward|first= Peter|title = Damming the Flood: Haiti and the Politics of Containment|url = https://archive.org/details/dammingfloodhait00hall|url-access = registration|date = April 2008|publisher = Verso|location =London |isbn= 9781844672349}}</ref> noting that [[ActionAid]] and [[Christian Aid]] "effectively condoned the [2004 US-backed] coup" against an elected government in Haiti and are the "humanitarian face of imperialism".<ref>"[http://www.tanbou.com/2011/PeterHallwardRespondsToBbcRadio4Program.htm Peter Hallward responds to BBC Radio 4 program on Haiti]", ''Tanbou'', 11 January 2011.</ref> Movements in the [[Global South]] (such as [[South Africa]]'s [[Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign]]) have refused to work with NGOs, concerned that doing so would compromise their autonomy.<ref>"[http://abahlali.org/files/Oldfield%20&%20Stokke%20WCAEC%20Research%20Report.pdf Building unity in diversity: Social movement activism in the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign]", Sophie Oldfield and Kristian Stokke, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.poormagazine.org/node/2718 |title=Ashraf Cassiem: South African Resistance Against Evictions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907065328/http://www.poormagazine.org/node/2718 |archive-date=7 September 2012 |first1=Marlon |last1=Crump |website=Poor Magazine |date= November 18, 2009 }}</ref> NGOs have been accused of weakening people by allowing their funders to prioritize stability over social justice.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/are-ngos-enemies-sas-rural-folk-03-07-2013 |title=Are NGOs enemies of SA's rural folk? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922094058/http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/are-NGOs-enemies-sas-rural-folk-03-07-2013 |archive-date=22 September 2013 |first1=Youlendree |last1=Appasamy |website=Grocott's Mail |date=July 3, 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:Finally an honest days labor for an NGO (463962755).jpg|thumb|Workers from an NGO participating in local community work - some critics allege that NGOs prioritize their special interests over community wellbeing.]]

They have been accused of being designed by, and used as extensions of, the foreign-policy instruments of some Western countries and groups of countries.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=usurped |url=http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/ngo_the_guise_of_innocence |title=NGO: The Guise of Innocence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505230602/http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/ngo_the_guise_of_innocence |archive-date=5 May 2014 |first1=Jenny |last1=O'Connor |website=New Left Project |date=15 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/19/fake-rock-plot-spy-russians |title = Britain admits 'fake rock' plot to spy on Russians|work = The Guardian|date =19 January 2012|last1 = Topping|first1 = Alexandra|last2 = Elder |first2 = Miriam |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303125450/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/19/fake-rock-plot-spy-russians |archive-date= Mar 3, 2024 }}</ref> Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]] made that accusation at the 43rd [[Munich Security Conference]] in 2007, saying that NGOs "are formally independent but they are purposefully financed and therefore under control".<ref>{{cite speech |title=Speech and the Following Discussion at the Munich Conference on Security Policy |first=Vladimir |last=Putin |author-link=Vladimir Putin |event=43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy |location=[[Munich]], Germany |date=10 February 2007 |url=http://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2007/02/10/0138_type82912type82914type82917type84779_118123.shtml |via=President of Russia |access-date=28 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309232547/https://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2007/02/10/0138_type82912type82914type82917type84779_118123.shtml |archive-date=9 March 2012 }}</ref>
According to Michael Bond, "Most large NGOs, such as Oxfam, the Red Cross, Cafod and ActionAid, are striving to make their aid provision more sustainable. But some, mostly in the US, are still exporting the ideologies of their backers."<ref>Bond, Michael. "The Backlash against NGOs". Prospect, April 2000, pp.321. Print.</ref>

NGOs have been challenged as not representing the needs of the developing world, diminishing the "Southern voice" and preserving the [[North–South divide in the World|North–South divide]].<ref name="linden">Lindenberg, M. and Bryant, C. (2001) Going Global: Transforming Relief and Development NGOs. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.</ref> The equality of relationships between northern and southern parts of an NGO, and between southern and northern NGOs working in partnership, has been questioned; the north may lead in advocacy and resource mobilization, and the south delivers services in the developing world.<ref name=linden /> The needs of the developing world may not be addressed appropriately, as northern NGOs do not consult (or participate in) partnerships or assign unrepresentative priorities.<ref>, Jenkins, R. (2001) "Corporate Codes of Conduct: Self-Regulation in a Global Economy". ''Technology, Business and Society Programme Paper Number 2''. [[United Nations Research Institute for Social Development]].</ref> NGOs have been accused of damaging the public sector in target countries, such as mismanagement resulting in the breakdown of public healthcare systems.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>