Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-hvd4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-13T02:33:37.692Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Ties that Bind: A Network Analysis of Human Rights International Nongovernmental Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2013

Amanda Murdie
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Much scholarship concerning human rights international nongovernmental organizations (HR-INGOs) focuses on the central role they play within transnational advocacy networks. Despite this theoretical focus on networks, there has been scant empirical attention on the characteristics of the HR-INGO network or on whether the network characteristics of a HR-INGO matter for its advocacy output. Introducing a new relational dataset on 681 HR-INGOs, this article finds that the HR-INGO network is somewhat like a public good and that the organizations who utilize it benefit in terms of their international advocacy output. Other findings focus on how the structural characteristics of organizations can influence their propensity to connect to each other and how ‘free-riding’ can limit the benefits organizations receive from the network.

Type
Articles
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 1 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Department of Political Science, University of Missouri (email: [email protected]). The author wishes to record thanks to Sam Bell, Patricia Blocksome, John Boli, Doug Bond, K. Chad Clay, Will Moore, Dan Reiter, Beth Simmons, and Mike Ward, as well as the anonymous reviewers and the Editor Hugh Ward for helpful comments and advice on this work at all stages of the process. Special thanks are due both to David Brewington and to David R. Davis for their assistance with earlier drafts. Online appendices and data replication sets are available at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/S0007123412000683.

References

Bahrain Center for Human Rights. 2010. Human Rights Defenders Expose Bahraini Government Violations at UN Side Event. Available from http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3389, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Biliouri, Daphne. 1999. Environmental NGOs in Brussels: How Powerful Are Their Lobbying Activities? Environmental Politics 8:173–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bob, Clifford. 2005. The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boli, John, Brewington, David V.. 2007. Religious Organizations. Pp. 203–232 in Religion, Globalization and Culture, edited by Peter Beyer and Lori G. Beaman Leiden: Brill Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boli, JohnThomas, George M.. 1999. INGOs and the Organization of World Culture. Pp. 13–49 in Constructing World Culture: International Non-governmental Organizations Since 1875, edited by John Boli and George M. Thomas Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borello, Federico. 2011. East Africa: Preparing for Congolese Elections. Humanity United. Available from http://www.humanityunited.org/blog/east-africa-preparing-congolese-elections, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Caniglia, Beth. 2001. Informal Alliances vs. Institutional Ties: The Effects of Elite Alliances on Environmental TSMO Networks. Mobilization: an International Journal 6:37–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, R. Charli. 2007. Setting the Advocacy Agenda: Theorizing Issue Emergence and Nonemergence in Transnational Advocacy Networks. International Studies Quarterly 51:99–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, R. Charli. 2010. Governing the Global Agenda: Gate-keeping and Issue Adoption in Transnational Advocacy Networks. Pp. 202–237 in Who Governs the Globe?, edited by Deborah Avant, Martha Finnemore, and Susan Sell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cho, WendyFowler, James. 2010. Legislative Success in a Small World: Social Network Analysis and the Dynamics of Congressional Legislation. Journal of Politics 72:124–135.Google Scholar
Clark, Ann Marie, Friedman, Elisabeth J.Hochstetler, Kathryn. 1998. The Sovereign Limits of Global Civil Society: A Comparison of NGO Participation in UN World Conferences on the Environment, Human Rights, and Women. World Politics 51:1–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, Cindy, Sprenger, Ellen, VeneKlasen, Lisa. 2006. Where is the Money for Women's Rights? Assessing Resources and the Role of Donors in the Promotion of Women's Rights and the Support of Women's Organizations. Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). Available from http://www.awid.org/eng/Library/Where-is-the-Money-for-Women-s-Rights, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Cliff, A.D.Ord, J.K.. 1973. Spatial Autocorrelation. London, UK: Pion.Google Scholar
Conca, Ken. 1995. Greening the United Nations: Environmental Organizations and the UN System. Third World Quarterly 16:441–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conybeare, John A.C. 1994. The Portfolio Benefits of Free Riding in Military Alliances. International Studies Quarterly 38:405–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooley, AlexanderRon, James. 2002. The NGO Scramble Organizational Insecurity and the Political Economy of Transnational Action. International Security 27:5–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeMars, William E. 2005. NGOs and Transnational Networks: Wild Cards in World Politics. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Diani, MarioMcAdam, Doug, eds. 2003. Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diani, Mario. 2003. ‘Leaders’ or Brokers? Positions and Influence in Social Movement Networks. Pp. 105–121 in Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action, edited by Mario Diani and Doug McAdam Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dieng, Adama. 2001. The Contribution of NGOs to the Prevention of Human Rights Violations. Pp. 259–268 in The Prevention of Human Rights Violations, edited by Linos-Alexander Sicilianos. The Hague: Kluwar Law International.Google Scholar
Everton, Sean F., Cunningham, Dan. 2011 Terrorist Network Adaptation to a Changing Environment. Available from www.erdr.org/textes/everton_cunningham.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Ewing, MichaelNapoli, Julie. 2005. Developing and Validating a Multidimensional Nonprofit Brand Orientation Scale. Journal of Business Research 58:841–853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, Shelly. 1997. NGOs and Civil Society: (Un)stated Contradictions. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 554:46–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, Alan. 1992. Distant Obligations: Speculations on NGO Funding and the Global Market. Review of African Political Economy 19:9–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldston, Veronika Leila Szente. 2003. Statement Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights. OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism, Vienna, 19–20 June 2003. Available from http://www.osce.org/secretariat/42572, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Gould, Roger V. 2003. Why do Networks Matter? Rationalist and Structuralist Interpretations. Pp. 233–257 in Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action, edited by Mario Diani and Doug McAdam Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, EmilieMontgomery, Alexander. 2006. Power Positions: International Organizations, Social Networks, and Conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution 50:3–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie. 2008. Sticks and Stones: Naming and Shaming the Human Rights Enforcement Problem. International Organization 62:689–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanneman, Robert, Riddle, Mark. 2005. Introduction to Social Network Methods. Riverside, CA: University of California, Riverside. Available from http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Herzer, Dierk, Nunnenkamp, Peter. 2012. Private Donations, Government Grants, Commercial Activities, and Fundraising: Cointegration and Causality for NGOs in International Development Cooperation. Kiel Working Papers 1769. Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Available from http://ideas.repec.org/p/kie/kieliw/1769.html, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Hudson, Alan. 2000. Making the Connection: Legitimacy Claims, Legitimacy Chains and Northern NGOs’ International Advocacy. Pp. 89–97 in New Roles and Relevance: Development NGOs and the Challenge of Change, edited by David Lewis and Tina Wallace Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press.Google Scholar
Hughes, Melanie, Peterson, Lindsey, Ann Harrison, JillPaxton, Pamela. 2009. Power and Relations in the World Polity: The INGO Network Country Score, 1978–1998. Social Forces 87:1711–1742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2011. Nepal: Respect Basic Freedoms during Tibetan Holiday Season. Available from http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/09/nepal-respect-basic-freedoms-during-tibetan-holiday-season, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
James, Rick. 1994. Strengthening the Capacity of Southern NGO Partners. INTRAC: The International NGO Training and Research Centre. Occasional Paper Series Number 5. Available from http://www.intrac.org/data/files/resources/117/OPS-5-Strengthening-the-Capacity-of-Southern-NGO-Partners.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Katz, Hagai. 2006. Gramsci, Hegemony, and Global Civil Society Networks. Voluntas 17:332–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keck, Margaret E.Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
King, GaryLowe, Will. 2003. An Analysis Automated Information Extraction Tool for International Conflict Data with Performance as Good as Human Coders: A Rare Events Evaluation Design. International Organization 57:617–642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, MichaelWittenberg, Jason. 2000. Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation. American Journal of Political Science 44:47–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary. 1989. Variance Specification in Event Count Models: From Restrictive Assumptions to a Generalized Estimator. American Journal of Political Science 33:762–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoke, David. 1990. Political Networks: The Structural Perspective, Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korey, William. 1998. NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Landman, Todd. 2005. Protecting Human Rights: A Comparative Study. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Madon, S. 1999. International NGOs: Networking, Information Flows, and Learning. Journal of Strategic Information Systems 8:251–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maoz, Zeev, Terris, Lesley G., Kuperman, Ranan D.Talmud, Ilan. 2007. Network Centrality and International Conflict: Does it Pay to Be Important? Pp. 121–151 in Applications of Social Networks Analysis, edited by Thomas N. Friemel Konstanz: Universitat Verlag Konstanz.Google Scholar
McPherson, J. MillerSmith-Lovin, Lynn. 1987. Homophily in Voluntary Organiations: Status Distance and the Composition of Face-to-Face Groups. American Sociological Review 52:370–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mundy, KarenMurphy, Lynn. 2001. Transnational Advocacy, Global Civil Society? Emerging Evidence from the Field of Education. Comparative Education Review 45:5–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murdie, AmandaDavis, David R.. 2012a. Looking in the Mirror: Comparing INGO Networks across Issue Areas. Review of International Organizations 7:177–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murdie, AmandaDavis, David R.. 2012b. Shaming and Blaming: Using Events Data to Assess the Impact of Human Rights INGOs. International Studies Quarterly 56:1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NGO Code of Conduct for Health System Strengthening. 2009. Available from http://www.ngocodeofconduct.org/pdf/ngocodeofconduct.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Nissim, B. 2005. The Brand Advocate: A Strategy-driven Workbook. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
No Peace without Justice (NPWJ). 2011. ICC-NGOs Strategic Meetings in The Hague. 2011. Available from http://www.npwj.org/ICC/ICC-NGOs-strategic-meetings-Hague.html, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Olson, MancurZeckhauser, Richard. 1966. An Economic Theory of Alliances. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Mancur. 1965. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Parkin, Michael. 2005. Economics. Boston, Mass.: Pearson/Addison Wesley.Google Scholar
Plümper, Thomas, Neymayer, Eric. 2012. Free-Riding in Alliances Testing an Old Theory with a New Method. Available from http://www2.lse.ac.uk/geographyAndEnvironment/whosWho/profiles/neumayer/pdf/Free-riding-in-Alliances.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Risse, Thomas, Ropp, Steven C.Sikkink, Kathryn, eds. 1999. The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohrschneider, RobertDalton, Russell. 2002. A Global Network? Transnational Cooperation among Environmental Groups. Journal of Politics 64:510–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ron, James, Ramos, HowardRodgers, Kathleen. 2005. Transnational Information Politics: Human Rights NGO Reporting, 1986–2000. International Studies Quarterly 49:557–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shumate, MicheleLipp, Justin. 2008. Connection Collective Action Online: An Examination of the Hyperlink Network Structure of an NGO Issue Network. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 14:178–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shumate, MichelleDewitt, Lori. 2008. The North/South Divide in NGO Hyperlink Networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13:405–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, JackieWiest, Dawn. 2005. The Uneven Geography of Global Civil Society: National and Global Influences on Transnational Association. Social Forces 84:621–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stillman, Grant B. 2007. Global Standard NGO: Essential Elements of Good Practice. Raleigh, NC: Lulu Press.Google Scholar
Struett, Michael. 2008. The Politics of Constructing the International Criminal Court: NGOs, Discourse, and Agency. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UN 2011. Working with ECOSOC: An NGOs Guide to Consultative Status. Available from http://csonet.org/content/documents/BrochureLite.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
UN ECOSOC. 2009. Report of the Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations on its Regular Session. E/2009/32. Available from http://esango.un.org/paperless/Web?page=static&content=reports, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Union of International Associations (UIA). 2001/2002. Yearbook of International Organizations, CD-Rom Munich: KG Saur Verlag.Google Scholar
Union of International Associations (UIA). 2008/2009. Yearbook of International Organizations, Vol. 1–4, 45 ed.Munich: KG Saur Verlag.Google Scholar
United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) 2005. UN System Engagement with NGOs, Civil Society, the Private Sector, and Other Actors: A Compendium. Available from http://www.un-ngls.org/orf/compendium-2005-withCOVER.pdf, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Wasserman, StanleyFaust, Katherine. 1994. Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Workshop on HRE Issues in Human Rights NGOs. 2002. Arab Institute for Human Rights Documentation, Information and Training Centre for Human Rights of Morocco. Available from http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display_doc.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrea.org%2Ferc%2FLibrary%2Fresearch_evaluation%2FMarrakech02.html&external=N, accessed 26 September 2012.Google Scholar
Zampas, Christina. 2008. Abortion as a Human Right: International and Regional Standards. Oxford Human Rights Law Review 8:249–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Murdie Supplementary Material

Murdie Supplementary Material

Download Murdie Supplementary Material(File)
File 13.1 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Murdie Supplementary Material

Appendix 1 Tables R1-R14

Download Murdie Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 445.1 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Murdie Supplementary Material

Appendix 2

Download Murdie Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 201 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Murdie Supplementary Material

Appendix 3

Download Murdie Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 177.8 KB