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This book has been in preparation ever since 3 November 1963... [I]n 1968, the research and investigation for the book were resumed. But the preliminary findings couldn't be published due to threats from powerful elements implicated in the assassinations of the president and his brother. After the communist takeover in the South in April 1975, all the material collected were destroyed or hidden. 6 years later the authors succeeded in fleeing the country... After further work and from memory the Vietnamese version of this book was published... Indeed the vast majority of the Vietnamese people like the other peoples everywhere but wish to live under a totalitarian communist regime, if they have a choice. The question has been not diffuse nationalism and communism. Indeed communists have been utilizing and exploiting nationalism for their entrance. Then South Via Mom needed American aid in its war for survival to counter the assistance given the Hanoi Communists by the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China and other communist countries. But president John F. Kennedy did not practice what he was preaching. He didn't give the Vietnamese enough aid to fight it when the war started by the Hanoi Communists "by themselves for themselves, win or lose, it is their war, the people of Vietnam against Communists" to paraphrase one of his pronouncements He intervened militarily and politically to take command of the war and to rule the country. President Ngo Dihn Diem and counselor Ngo Dihn Ngu opposed such a communist intervention. That was the real reason causing their overthrow and barbaric assassinations and leading the US down the road to its Viet Nam War. With our very modest means we strove to investigate the two political murders and submit to submit our findings to further historical scrutiny.We hope to offer a small contribution to return the historical truth on this tragic chapter of Vietnamese and American history to history. --- excerpts from book's Foreword ... Read more

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Two opposing images of humanitarian NGOs challenge efforts to understand their role in international relations. Do they function as autonomous - and influential - non-state actors in pursuit of their own value-driven agendas? Or do they serve merely as the paid agents of national governments, providing a service delivery function in line with those nations’ foreign policy goals?

Stoddard proposes a third view: that humanitarian NGOs, even those dependent on their home government for most of their funding, can and do influence state policy formation, but not in the manner of interest-based advocacy groups. Instead, these operational groups have the greatest impact on policy by providing hands-on information taken from experience. This information can shape what governments and other actors know, and how the policy problem is framed.

Using case illustrations of US policy in the conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia, Angola, DR Congo, Sudan, and Kosovo, Humanitarian Alert charts the course of NGO information from its formation on the ground to its use by officials in all levels of government. An array of sources, from embassy telegrams to interviews with state and non-state actors, creates a compelling picture of how narratives and numbers in humanitarian crises help or hinder response. ... Read more

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As the Cold War ended there was a conscious policy shift in Western countries—and, as a consequence, among international agencies—which was directed at supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the developing world. As a result, large amounts of foreign funds began to be granted to various NGO groups with the ostensible aim of encouraging pro-people development.

This book contributes to the emerging debate which is questioning the role of foreign funded NGOs. There is a growing awareness that they often have a powerful structural influence, impacting both organizational landscapes and civil society. In this context, Susantha Goonatilake studies the political economy of NGO activity in Sri Lanka, a country which once had a vibrant democratic tradition and a functioning civil society.

The author maintains that focused NGO penetration into the country began in the 1980s, simultaneously with the growth of the authoritarian state. He contends that their subsequent activities in Sri Lanka have had a deep and visible impact on civic life: from restructuring the state, to de-mobilizing the armed forces, to privatizing foreign relations, to controlling key segments of academia and media. To illustrate his argument he takes up four areas—social development, human rights, international relations, and academia—and describes the role of foreign funded NGOs in all four. Through these case studies the author highlights his basic premise: that the work of foreign funded NGOs actually undermines local civil institutions and that they project an implicit agenda for re-colonization.

Constituting the first detailed case study of what is happening on the ground, this absorbing book challenges the widely held view of foreign funded NGOs being unsullied harbingers of good. It will be of immense interest to all those involved in rural development, sociology, political science, economics, and international relations. It will also attract the attention of multilateral funding agencies and policy makers. ... Read more

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Widespread public concern about environmental issues has attracted growinginterest in the subject in both the popular media and academic literature. Thework of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) like Greenpeace and others intrying to change the environmental policies of governments and businessorganizations has received some attention, but what has been written is mostlyNorthern-based and about Northern NGOs.

This book makes an originalcontribution to the subject in three major ways. First, new evidence is reportedresulting from field research in Asia and Africa by a team of social scientistsfrom the Open University and their collaborators. Second, the focus is mainly onNGOs in Asia and Africa; since environmental policies usually emanate from, andare affected by, an international political context. There is attention also tothe international linkages between Southern NGOs and their Northern colleagues.Third, the original research reported here relates to important theoreticalissues inthe academic literatures of comparative politics and the socialsciences more generally.

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Some time ago, my friends, Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., requested me to write a small book on Civil Government in the United States, which might be useful as a text-book, and at the same time serviceable and suggestive to the general reader interested in American history. In preparing the book certain points have been kept especially in view, and deserve some mention here.
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The central question in this book is how non-governmental humanitarian aid organizations initiate, terminate and extend their project activities. Humanitarian aid organizations regularly face difficult decisions about life and death in a context of serious time constraints which force them to daily select whom to help and whom not to help. Heyse focuses on how humanitarian aid organizations make these kind of decisions and provides an inside view of the decision-making processes. Two NGO case studies are used as illustration: Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and Acting with Churches Together (ACT) both of which operate in an international network and represent specific types of NGOs often found in the community. This book is one of few that opens up the black box of NGO operations, provides an empirical account of organizational decision making and combines insights of organizational decision-making theory and organization theory. ... Read more

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County Officers Sheriff--Commonwealth's Attorney--County Clerk-- Treasurer--Commissioner of the Revenue--Superintendent of the Poor--County Surveyor-Superintendent of Public Schools County Board of School Commissioners--Electoral Board--Board of Supervisors--Assessors--Coroner
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In the last two decades, a concern on how federal forests in the United States are managed has provoked concerns among different stakeholders, including NGOs. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of NGO influence on forest management legislation. Eight aspects were selected and compared in different study cases referring to legislative proposals dealing with forest management in order to define success criteria for a legislative initiative. The study indicates that the following criteria are particularly important to fulfill in order to influence forest management legislation:

- The issue to address should be on the political agenda and have high public interest.

- Environmental and social aspects should not be at the expense of economic aspects.

- The legislative initiative should be prepared in multi-stakeholder processes, including local government and organizations.

- The supporters of the initiative should take part in all decision-making processes and advise the Government in aspects related to their areas of expertise.

NGOs would likely improve their chances of influencing forest management legislation if they hold a flexible position regarding legislative proposals containing similar or even less strict measures than their own initiatives, look at market oriented schemes as alternatives to legislation, and maintain good relationships with other major stakeholders. ... Read more

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This book deals with two major issues: how Indonesian NGOs survived under Suharto's authoritarian rule; and how NGOs contributed to the promotion of democracy in the post-Suharto era. If NGOs are to change from 'development' to 'movement' in democratic post-Suharto Indonesia, they must adjust not only their management and working style, but also their very ideology. This comprehensive study will be an important book for scholars interested in Asian studies, Indonesian politics and development studies.

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Collects new insights on current security problems, especially those related to arms control and disarmament. Contributors argue that the cooperative efforts of NGOs and middle powers have positively impacted the use of child soldiers, the employment of cluster bombs, landmines, nuclear weapons, and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. In doing so, they conclusively show that global players other than superpowers can create alternative and effective solutions to enduring security problems. ... Read more

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Drawing on years of research and direct experience in Bangladesh, Stiles pulls together theoretical strands from economics, sociology, and anthropology to help explain an emerging social structure in the Third World. These structures, which he calls "intermestic development circles," bring together international donor agencies with various domestic community and private organizations. In Bangladesh not-for-profit agencies are dramatically transforming their operation and organizational cultures, while in turn Western NGOs are themselves changing in subtle ways. Scholars of development will find Stiles's intriguing account of the reciprocating effects of extensive interaction, cooperation, and tensions between international donors and domestic recipients informative and provocative. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

A good start, but not enough
I've never found a book on this topic before; I was turned on to it by a colleague of the authors since I'm working in an area that needs a "megacommunity" in order to truly address the enormous issues at hand. This book is a fantastic guide for how to recognize and think about multistakeholder issues, and how to begin to address them.

Too often stakeholder groups, particularly industry and NGOs, just come right out fighting. If they really and truly understood each others' points and situations they may in fact find that they can align to have similar goals and achieve their ends more readily, at lower cost, and in a mutually satisfying manner. The book provides many examples.

However, the book suffers from three problems:

First, many of the examples are more "microcommunity" than "megacommunity"; for instance - a single company in a single location dealing with a single issue. The example of a power company building a plant in a small town in Italy, while demonstrating the negatives of not working together vs. working together with different stakeholders gives an inkling of the concept but it is not "mega" by any stretch.

Second, the authors have apparently not yet had to deal with massive international multistakeholder issues like global warming or chemical regulation. Examples in those areas are needed, but are not yet available so it's no fault of the authors, it's the fault of the stakeholders. We have yet to construct our "megacommunity" and start working to get things done.

Third, the definition of stakeholders in a "megacommunity" is perhaps too narrow; only three are defined: industry, NGOs, and government. There is at least one example in the book that includes academia, a fourth (and often very important) stakeholder group. Two more, necessary for chemicals and global warming, include labor and standards development organizations.

So I want to see the next volume in the series!

Megacommunities
This work seeks to formulate a new business model
for articulating complicated problems which are
interdisciplinary in nature with extensive reaches
into multiple parts of the community at large.
The authors describe non-linear activity
flows and events; such as, Katrina.

We are limited by complexity, cross-boundaries,
communications, differences between "the haves"
and "the have nots" and imbalances in the
transactional flows of major systems.

The megacommunity is the merging of the public sphere,
business and civil society. These are the strategic
constituencies with the levers of influence, shared
interests and major areas of convergence.
Barnstorming solutions, pattern study,
permanent negotiation, constant reconciliation and
mapping shareholders are the norm in order to define,
structure and solve problems of a higher order or intractable nature.

The book is an excellent work for assisting communities
in the hard work of problem definition, structure and
resolution.The authors transcend existing
methodologies to seek solutions in a global-collaborative
way.

This work would be helpful in formulating solutions to
classic problems that have beset this country and this world.

Optimize versus Maximize - - - The Interdependence Imperative
The authors make a convincing case for how the prevailing paradigm in business, government, and the non-profit sector of "Winner Take All Competition" is being exposed as a dead end. The "MAXIMIZE returns for OUR constituents paradigm" just doesn't work when the job is to address large complex and interconnected challenges like - Sustainable Energy - Global Terrorism - Fair Trade Coffee.

When faced with such a challenge, the "OPTIMIZE returns for ALL stakeholders" is the most effective strategy. The trick is that, executing this strategy requires a very different set of skills and mindsets. The great thing about this book is that it doesn't just prescribe a solution, it provides a blueprint for initiating, structuring, sustaining, and leading these Megacommunities.

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Following disastrous floods in 1995, North Korea appealed to the international community for assistance. An unprecedented number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) responded, bringing humanitarian assistance and reflief. With their arrival came hopes for a more open, engaged North Korea. The authors of Paved with Good Intentions explore the varying experiences of U.S., South Korean, and European NGOs--and some of the obstacles that have placed those hopes on hold. Intended to assist policy makers, the NGO community, and others interested in engaging North Korea, Paved With Good Intentions is the first book to take an inside look at the NGO experience in North Korea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

innocents abroad
It has been nearly a decade since the first foreign NGO was permitted to begin famine relief operations in the DPRK.Since then the NGOs have had not only a significant humanitarian impact but a political one as well.This timely volume is filled with penetrating insights into the complex interplay between the DPRK, the NGOs, and the NGOs' home governments, and is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the Korean peninsula today. ... Read more

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The proliferation of international institutions and their impact has become a central issue in international relations. Why do countries comply with international agreements and how do international institutions influence national policies? Most theories focus on the extent to which international institutions can wield 'carrots and sticks' directly in their relations with states. Xinyuan Dai presents an alternative framework in which they influence national policies indirectly by utilizing non-state actors (NGOs, social movements) and empowering domestic constituencies. In this way, even weak international institutions that lack 'carrots and sticks' may have powerful effects on states. Supported by empirical studies of environmental politics, human rights and economic and security issues, this book sheds fresh light on how and why international institutions matter. It will be of interest to students, scholars and policymakers in both international relations and international law. ... Read more

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This book, based on extensive original research including detailed interview research in over 40 Chinese NGOs, discusses the current position of NGOs within China. It argues that although all NGOs are dependent on the state, all enjoy a very large degree of autonomy. ... Read more

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Impressive in its scope and inventiveness, DEMOCRACYBEYOND BORDERS stands at the forefront of a new generationof political thought which reassesses the philosophicalfoundations of the global order. Developing an innovativepolitical theory of representation, the book providescompelling answers as to how we can ensure that globalleaders act responsively and effectively in the interests ofglobal citizens. It proposes practical reforms to the UnitedNations and other major institutions. ... Read more