Master Thesis - The NGOization in Palestine: An empirical study of the prevailing discourses in the NGO sector in Palestine
Translated title
Master Thesis - The NGOization in Palestine: Et emperisk studie af af de herskende diskurser i NGO sektoren i Palæstina
Authors
Andersen, Maria Lagoni Grube ; von Wildenradt, Edda Maria ; Nielsen, Maria Schnell
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-05-31
Pages
95
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan og hvorfor lokale organisationer i Ramallah udfordrer den internationale diskurs om NGO-sektoren. Med afsæt i Laclau og Mouffes diskursteori - hvor diskurs forstås som fælles måder at tale og tænke på, som former, hvad der opfattes som almindelig sund fornuft - analyserer vi data fra et kortere etnografisk studie. Studiet kombinerer seks måneders praktik, en uges forberedende besøg og fem ugers feltarbejde i Ramallah. Vi gennemførte syv interviews med organisationer og eksperter i Palæstinas NGO-sektor og brugte også deltagerobservation, uformelle samtaler og sekundærlitteratur. Vi finder to dominerende diskurser: en lokal og en international, hvor den internationale er stærkt præget af vestlige ideer. Samtidig identificerer vi flere moddiskurser, som konkurrerer om at blive hegemoniske (de mest udbredte og accepterede). Tre skiller sig ud i vores materiale: 'The International Donor’s Agenda Discourse' (opfattelsen af, at finansieringsbetingelser fremmer eksterne politiske dagsordener og begrænser organisationers autonomi), 'Inferior Status Discourse' (påstanden om, at NGO-sektoren genskaber koloniale magtforhold, som hæmmer et palæstinensisk nationalt projekt) og 'Individualisation Discourse' (bekymringen for, at NGO’ernes udbredelse - forbundet med neoliberale og kapitalistiske logikker - gør civilsamfundet mere individualiseret og passivt). Mange informanter mener, at tilstrømningen af NGO’er har svækket - nogle siger ødelagt - det palæstinensiske civilsamfund. Vi ser også en generationskløft: Yngre udnytter ofte de muligheder, NGO’er tilbyder, mens ældre generationer er mere kritiske. Endelig spores moddiskurserne til personlige og ideologiske ståsteder, herunder en romantiseret forestilling om fortiden, diaspora-perspektiver og marxistiske idéer. Samlet set konkluderer specialet, at der ikke findes én stabil dominerende diskurs; der foregår en vedvarende kamp mellem den internationale diskurs og forskellige moddiskurser.
This thesis examines how and why local organizations in Ramallah challenge the international discourse about the NGO sector. Using Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory - understanding discourse as shared ways of talking and thinking that shape what is treated as common sense - we analyze data from a shorter ethnographic study. The study combines a six-month internship, a one-week preparatory visit, and five weeks of fieldwork in Ramallah. We conducted seven interviews with organizations and experts in Palestine’s NGO sector and drew on participant observation, informal conversations, and secondary literature. We find two dominant discourses: a local discourse and an international discourse strongly influenced by Western ideas. Alongside these, we identify several counter-discourses that compete to become hegemonic (the most widely accepted). Three stand out in our material: the 'International Donor’s Agenda Discourse' (the view that funding conditions advance external political agendas and limit organizational autonomy), the 'Inferior Status Discourse' (the claim that the NGO sector reproduces colonial power relations that hinder a Palestinian national project), and the 'Individualisation Discourse' (the concern that the expansion of NGOs - linked to neoliberal and capitalist logics - leads to a more individualised and passive civil society). Many interviewees argue that the influx of NGOs has weakened - some say destroyed - Palestinian civil society. We also observe a generational divide: younger people often use the opportunities NGOs provide, while older generations tend to be more critical. Finally, we trace the counter-discourses to personal and ideological standpoints, including a romanticised view of the past, diaspora perspectives, and Marxist ideas. Overall, the thesis concludes that there is no single, stable dominant discourse; instead, there is ongoing contestation between the international discourse and various counter-discourses.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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Other projects by the authors
Andersen, Maria Lagoni Grube:
von Wildenradt, Edda Maria:
Nielsen, Maria Schnell: