Participatory Strategies for Non-Governmental Organizaitons

The world is increasingly globalizing. What this exactly means is widely debated, but one thing that is for sure is there has been a proliferation of international institutions and global governance to address global issues in recent times. Non-Governmental Organizations play an intricate part in global governance and they are the focus of this study. Specifically, this paper analyzes the role of Non-Governmental Organizations as way to increase the democratic legitimacy of global governance through the democratic legitimization of the organizations themselves. Moreover, this paper concentrates on the part of participation of individuals as a way to increase democratic legitimacy of Non-Governmental Organizations. One case is chosen in particular, Oxfam International and from analysis of observed participatory strategies, a set of best practices is then derived. These best practices are meant to be in general terms, so that any Non-Governmental Organization seeking to enhance its democratic legitimacy can adopt these practices and tailor them to their own organization’s functions.