9 - The future of corporate–NGO relations

Summary

Corporate–NGO relations are increasingly complex, variegated and multifaceted. In this brief final chapter, we review some of the contributions of this book, suggest some implications for researchers and practitioners, and propose some questions and unresolved areas for future attention. We also offer our assessment of the broader trends and trajectories in corporate–NGO interactions from the perspective of co-evolutionary theory.

The continuing progression of NGOs and their strategies

In Chapter 1, we argued that many NGOs now fall in to the “hybrid” category in that they engage in both advocacy and service delivery. Yet, the “radical” advocacy organizations documented in Section II of the book persist and are, perhaps, on the rise. Indeed, one of the more interesting trends to watch is the rise in the more militant NGOs. Al-Qaeda may be viewed as one of the most influential NGOs on the planet today – a pure “advocacy” NGO in the extreme – and Hezbollah, acting as both an “advocacy” and “service” NGO, has grown in the presence of the failed Lebanese state from militant NGO to a pseudo-state player.

These observations suggest, in turn, that our definitions and classifications of NGOs may need to be broadened. For example, are the various militias in Iraq also NGOs? To the extent that this sort of NGO fills a particular political or societal void, it raises serious questions about our understanding of institutional voids.