Index Page for Work by Peter Willetts on NGOs
Contents
What is a Non-Governmental Organisation?
Article, for the UNESCO Encyclopaedia of Life Sciences, on the different structures, types of NGO coalitions and how NGOs relate to social movements and civil society - click here
Information on Consultative Status for NGOs with the UN Economic and Social Council.
- The United Nations statute for NGOs, Economic and Social Council Resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996.
This resolution specifies the conditions for an NGO to be recognised by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations of ECOSOC and the participation rights they gain once they obtain consultative status, - click here.
- The list of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, as of August 2003
- click here for a web version or for the original UN PDF version.
(Note: the PDF file is sixty seven pages long.).
- The list of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, as of August 2002
- click here for a web version or for the original UN PDF version.
(Note: the PDF file is sixty three pages long and
it is no longer available on the UN website, as it has been replaced by the current version.)
- The list of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, as of August 2001
- click here for a web version or for the original UN PDF version.
(Note: the PDF file is more than fifty pages long and
it is no longer available on the UN website, as it has been replaced by the current version.)
- For a graph of the numbers of accredited NGOs, each year from 1945 to 2002,
- click here
- For a note on the Roster of NGOs attending the Commission on Sustainable Development
- click here
- For the record of the changes in the names of the three categories of NGOs - click here
- For the raw data on the numbers of NGOs accredited each year - & nbsp;click here
- For the graph, the note, the name changes and the raw data, in a single Word file, - click here
Primary Sources - United Nations Documents and Websites
- The United Nations statute for NGOs, Economic and Social Council Resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996.
This resolution specifies the conditions for an NGO to be recognised by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations of ECOSOC and the participation rights they gain once they obtain consultative status,
click here.
- The United Nations home page for civil society, click here.
- Guidelines for Association between the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organisations, prepared by the NGO Section of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Note: this is a PDF file of twenty-one pages,
click here.
- The website of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), click here.
- Forthcoming Major Conferences and General Assembly Special Sessions click here.
- Past Conferences and General Assembly Special Sessions click here.
- Table of Major UN Conferences in the 1990s, download as a Word 6 document.
Websites for NGO Networks
- The One World website. This must be the first port of call, in any search for information about a particular NGO or the range of NGOs involved on current issues. Unfortunately, downloading the web pages is slow, but it is still a very useful website. It mainly covers development, the environment, human rights, women's issues, arms control and globalisation. click here.
The One World Partners Directory has entries for nearly one thousand organisations, covering NGOs, plus some governments, intergovernmental organisations and news organisations. Not all the organisations you might hope for are listed, but in some cases this is because they do not have a website.
- List of websites for NGOs Specialising on the IMF and the World Bank,
click here.
- Trade Justice Network, click here.
- Oxfam International Make Trade Fair Campaign, click here.
- The Coalition for an International Criminal Court, click here.
- The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, click here.
- The International Action Network on Small Arms, click here.
- The World Court Project - this is not related to the campaign for the creation of an International Criminal Court. It has used the existing International Court of Justice, to promote the idea that nuclear weapons are against international law. click here.
- The International Baby Foods Action Network, click here.
- The Rainforest Action Network, click here.
- The Climate Action Network, click here.
- The Pesticide Action Network, click here.
- Health Action International, click here.
- UNED Forum, a London-based NGO (not part of the UN) that acts as a global resource for NGO networking on sustainable development click here.
- The following two networks have no website of their own, but their activities may be identified by putting their names in a search engine
- International NGO Committee on Human Rights in Trade and Investment (INCHRITI)
- Habitat International Coalition.
Edited Books by Peter Willetts
- 'The Conscience of the World'. The Influence of Non-Governmental Organisations in the UN System, (London: Christopher Hurst for the David Davies Institute, 1996), (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1996). In the USA, this will permanently available from Brookings through their print-on-demand system.
To see the contents - click here.
- Pressure Groups in the Global System: The Transnational Relations of Issue-Orientated Non-Governmental Organisations, (London: Frances Pinter, Global Politics Series, 1982), (New York: St.Martin's Press, 1982).
To see the contents - click here.
Articles and Book Chapters on NGOs, by Peter Willetts
- 'Transnational Actors and International Organisations in Global Politics', pp. 356-383, in J. B. Baylis and S. Smith, The Globalisation of World Politics, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 2001). click here
This chapter outlines the Pluralist approach to the study of global politics, argues that "states" should not be used as units of analysis (except as a legal concept) and discusses the location of transnational actors within global issue-systems and policy-domains.
- 'Representation of Private Organisations in the Global Diplomacy of Economic Policy-Making', pp. 34-58, in Karsten Ronit and Volker Schneider (eds.), Private Organisations in Global Politics, (London and New York: Routledge European Consortium for Political Research Series, Number 15, 2000).
This chapter compares the participation rights of NGOs and of companies in the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO the ILO and UNCTAD. An assessment is made for each system whether the policy networks can best be described as being Pluralist or Corporatist.
- 'From "Consultative Arrangements" to "Partnership": The Changing Status of NGOs in Diplomacy at the UN', Global Governance, April-June 2000, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 191-212.
This article provides a broad overview of the history of NGO participation rights in the UN and concludes that their rights are so well established and codified that NGOs must now be regarded as a third type of international legal personality, alongside states and intergovernmental organisations.
- 'Die NGOs repräsentieren die Gesellschaft', pp.135-45, in O. Tolmein (ed.), Welt Macht Recht (Hamburg: Konkret Literatur Verlag, 2000).
This is a German translation of the transcript of a 30-minute radio interview, broadcast by Deutschlandfunk Köln on 6 February 2000, as part of a series on current international questions. The interview was a general discussion between Peter Willetts and Oliver Tolmein on the influence of NGOs in contemporary global politics.
- 'The Rules of the Game', pp. 247-283, in J. W. Foster with A. Anand (eds.) Whose World is it Anyway? Civil Society, the United Nations and the Multilateral Future, (Toronto: United Nations Association of Canada,1999). (French edition, Un monde pour tout le monde. La société civile et l'avenir du multilatéralisme.)
The book was prepared as an input to the World Civil Society Conference in Montréal, December 1999. The whole book is a valuable source on the current activities and concerns of NGOs in global politics. It is available from the United Nations Association in Canada for US$40.00, including airmail postage - elliott@unac.org
- 'Political globalisation and the impact of NGOs upon transnational companies', pp. 195-226 in J. V. Mitchell (ed.), Companies in a World of Conflict, (London: Earthscan and Washington: The Brookings Institution, for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1998).
This chapter analyses how TNCs can avoid coming into conflict with NGOs and concludes their only option is to minimise criticism by avoiding policies and practices that they are not willing defend. The logic of this position is that they must develop an explicit statement of business ethics and ensure that all their employees are aware of it
.
- 'Who cares about the environment?', chapter in J Vogler and M Imber (eds.), The Environment and International Relations, (London: Routledge, Economic and Social Research Council Global Environmental Change Series, 1996).
This article analyses the nature of values in environmental politics. It is argued that environmental values are not distinct from so-called objective interests, which are just assertions of the value of security and/or wealth. NGOs gain significance in environmental politics as actors who mobilise support for the particular values of biodiversity, health, beauty and animal rights. Adopting a theoretical approach focused on values is of general importance for the study of global politics. It is the prime way in which NGO are transformed from being interesting empirical phenomena to having a central role in political theory.
Readers who are interested in such an approach should also consult the new book on Amnesty International by Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001).
- 'From Stockholm to Rio and Beyond: The Impact of the Environmental Movement on the United Nations Consultative Arrangements for NGOs', Review of International Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, January 1996.
This article reviews the impact of the Stockholm and Rio conferences on the general arrangements for all NGOs to relate to the UN and UN conferences. It is argued that the impact of Rio has been grossly over-stated, as NGO rights had been steadily increasing since the early 1970s. In addition, the euphoria at Rio did not carry through to significant changes in the statute that had been operating since 1950. The one exception was the routine acceptance of national NGOs within the system for consultative status.
- Transnational Actors and Changing World Order, paper for a United Nations University conference, March 1992, Yokohama: publication March 1993 as PRIME Occasional Paper Number 17, International Peace Research Institute Meigaku, Yokohama, Japan.
This paper is an assertion of the importance of transnational actors within the
context of a discussion of Rosenau's approach in Turbulence in World Politics: A Theory of Change and
Continuity, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990).
- 'Transactions, Networks and Systems', in A J R Groom and P Taylor, Frameworks for International Co-operation, (London: Pinter Publishing, 1990).
This chapter analyses the Realist, Functionalist, Structuralist (neo-Marxist) and Pluralist (Global Politics) approaches to the nature of international systems. It argues that interdependence and transnationalism, the increased importance of global economic issues and the need to recognise the impact of international organisations all undermine the dominant Realist approach. Only a Pluralist analysing issue-systems offers a comprehensive alternative.
- 'Interdependence: New Wine in Old Bottles', in J.N.Rosenau and H.Trompe, Interdependence and Conflict in World Politics (Aldershot: Gower Press, 1989).
This chapter argues that consideration of interdependence as occurring between states undermines its use as a meaningful distinct concept. Interdependence has to exist between identifiable coherent actors and therefore it should only be used in relation to transnational, transgovernmental and intergovernmental actors. It can only be part of a Pluralist and not a Realist approach to theory
- 'The Pattern of Conferences' in A J R Groom and P Taylor, Global Issues in the United Nations Framework, (London: Macmillan, 1989).
This chapter defines what may be considered as a "global conference" and systematically analyses data on participation in 147 such conferences from 1961 to 1985. Particular attention is given to the level of participation by NGOs and the exceptional nature of the Stockholm UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972.
- 'The United Nations as a Political System', in P Taylor and A J R Groom, International Institutions at Work, (London: Pinter Publishing, 1988).
This chapter argues that the UN cannot be understood from a reductionist approach that sees its decisions as being no more than the sum of the policies of its member states. It is an independent political system in which delegations interact more closely with each other than with their ministries in the capital cities. Delegates do not simply follow instructions. They are subject to influence by the other delegations, the caucus groups, the NGOs and secretariat officials.
Books with some Editorial Work by Peter Willetts
- A. Chetley, The Politics of Baby Foods: The International Campaign to Control the Marketing of Dried Milk by Transnational Companies ,(London: Pinter Publishers, 1986).
The book is a detailed account by the first General Administrator for the International Baby Foods Action Network (IBFAN) of the campaign to obtain the passage by the World Health Organisation of an International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes.
The only formal academic content is a brief preface by Peter Willetts that discusses the lack of validity of the distinction between high and low politics. The preface also includes the original source of the estimate that bottle-feeding causes one million deaths per year and an explanation of how the estimate was calculated. The figure has sometimes been attributed to UNICEF. It was based on their data, but not made by them.
The book has great value for teaching purposes, as a very rich empirical account of the relations between NGOs, TNCs, governments and international secretariats on a particular issue. Students can then be challenged to analyse it in theoretical terms for themselves.
- David Humphreys, Forest Politics. The Evolution of International Co-operation, (London: Earthscan Publications, 1996).
The book is the authoritative account of the global politics of rainforests, in the 1980s and the early 1990s. It covers the Tropical Forestry Action Plan of the FAO, the International Tropical Timber Organisation and the forest negotiations during and immediately after the UN Conference on Environment and Development. It provides a detailed account of the involvement of NGOs in the global diplomacy. The book is based on the author's doctorate from City University.
- K. Suter, An International Law of Guerrilla Warfare: The Global Politics of Law-Making, (London: Pinter Publishers, 1984).
The book outlines in detail the role of NGOs, notably the International Commission of Jurists and the International Committee of the Red Cross, in initiating and negotiating the 1997 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions.
- Mandy Bentham, The Global Politics of Drugs Control, (London: Macmillan Press, due 1998).
The book is an important contribution to theoretical debate about the analysis of contention over values in global politics. It concludes that there is not a single "drug problem", but a series of policy domains, in which issues concerning production, trade and consumption of drugs arise. In a domain such as international finance where high consensus on the norm of opposing money laundering exists a strong international regime has been developed. In contrast to this there is little action on social welfare questions, because no consensus exists on the values to be pursued, let alone on any more specific policy norms. The book is based on the author's doctorate from City University.
- Mira Filipovic, Governments, Banks and Global Capital, (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 1997).
The book analyses the development of global capital markets and the consequent need for regulation to guard against the systemic risk that imprudent and/or corrupt practices could threaten the viability of all global banks. It covers the development of international standards by both an intergovernmental body, the Basle Committee and a hybrid international non-governmental organisation, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). It makes an important contribution to the development of a non-state-centric version of regime theory. The book is based on the author's doctorate from City University.
- Peter Hough, The Global Politics of Pesticides, (London: Earthscan, due 1998).
The book considers seven different policy domains affected by the use of pesticides: crop production, disease control, safety of workers, environmental pollution, food contamination, trade and Integrated Pest Management. It demonstrates how some of the problems, notably the contamination of food, have been successfully regulated at the global level, while NGO campaigns on other problems have yet to make an impact. A stimulating conclusion discusses under what conditions international regimes can be established. The book is based on the author's doctorate from City University.
Research Project on Civil Society Networks in Global Governance
Please return to the Home Page or click on the "Civ Soc" button.
Links to other topics -
Department of Sociology, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB.
Page maintained by Peter Willetts
Last updated on 2 September 2003.