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The International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR) is pleased to present the first in a series of occasional reports. This report reviews the research papers presented at the Second International Conference of ISTR (Mexico City, July, 1996) that focus on Latin America.

Third Sector Research: A Call from the South
Catalina Smulovitz

The purpose of these notes is to review those papers focused on Latin America that were presented at the Second International Conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research in Mexico City. The thirty papers (see references) presented reveal the fragmented, chaotic and uneven development of the research field in the region. The identification of the main topics covered illustrate this situation: there are country descriptions of the sector (Foley and Hasbún Barake; Jiménez de la Jara; Bettoni Schafer and Vázquez Novoa); there are evaluations of the role of NGOs in different social policies such as environmental (Avila García), housing (Coulomb and Herrasti), educational (Mack Echiverría; Merege and Aquino Alves; Rodríguez Herrera; Schteingart), industrial and rural (Méndez and Ríos Herrán; Parra Vázquez and Moguel Viveros; Gordon), youth or health policies (Bifarello; Biagini and Sánchez); there are assessments of the financial capacities of the sector in specific countries (de la Maza, González Bombal and Roitter); there are studies regarding the relationship between NGOs and women's issues (Schapira; Tarrés Barraza); and there are discussions regarding the relationship between the NGOs and the State (Armony; Bonamusa and Villar; Castro y Castro; Fernández Rodríguez and Villalobos Gryzbowicz; Peréz Yarahuan and García-Junco Machado; Piester and Chalmers; Thompson; Vives). The majority of the papers can be characterized as case studies or as descriptions of organizational experiences. It is true that given the novelty of the field and the explosive growth of the phenomenon in the region, a corpus of data has to be built. And in a way this explains why most of what has been written is oriented toward the accumulation and registration of individual experiences rather than to the reflection about the characteristics and impact of the phenomenon. Nevertheless, it is difficult to avoid the idea that we are being confronted with a corpus of research in search of a theory.

Given this diversity, I decided to concentrate my review on two theoretical and controversial questions that can be identified in some of the papers. They will contribute to specify the role the Third Sector has in the Latin American context and, at the same time, they may help us to redefine some theoretical concepts regarding the evolution of the sector in the region.

What are these two questions? One deals with the different reasons that account for the growth and characteristics of the sector in the different Latin American societies. The other reexamines one premise of the literature, that is, the idea that a sizable NGO sector is related to the development of more democratic societies. By focusing on these two questions the contribution of the Latin American research to the general theory can be emphasized.

I.

The rules of the art recommend that I neatly summarize what has been said in each of the papers being reviewed. However, I decided not to follow that path. It does not make sense to rewrite in a summarized version diverse organizational experiences. In doing that the common theoretical and practical problems of the research in the region will be lost.

Which is then, that common ground? Most of the different organizational histories that acknowledge the recent growth of the sector in Latin America accept as a premise two prominent causes suggested by some North American economists (see Salamon and Anheier¹ for a critique): that state failures and market failures explain the emergence of these organizations. Statements such as the following illustrate the wide acceptance of the state failure hypothesis for the Latin American case:

"In the eighties,.....the faith, that since the liberal period, considered the State as main provider of education was broken. This has left the non governmental sectors in an unbeatable position to fulfill this growing demand given the diminishing official offer."²

or

"The withdrawal of the health protection functions of the state and its transfer to the private sector, to the community, to the family and to the individual, as parts of the neoliberal strategy, have conditioned the appearance and growth of voluntary and private organizations to confront the health needs of low income populations or with specific problems."³

or

"In the area of Rosario, social policies oriented toward infancy are being confronted by a State that is weak and fragmented. The NGO's assistance programs came out and are sustained as a way to fulfill the lack of state actions."⁴

The relation between market failures and NGO growth can also be found in some of the papers. Examples of this other hypothesis can be found in Méndez and Ríos Herrán study "NGOs and Industrial Politics. The Case of ADMIC in Nuevo León," where ADMIC´s emergence is related to its ability to deal with one of the fundamental problems of the Mexican economy: unemployment. (See also Arellanes Jiménez; Parra Vázquez and Moguel Viveros; Suarez de Soto and Pinedo Guerra; Vives.)

Consequently, it can be asserted that an important mass of the research on NGOs being developed in the region is oriented to illustrate these hypotheses. Using Skocpol and Somers⁵ categories in relation to comparative research strategies, it looks as if most researchers have opted to fill in the cases for a parallel demonstration of a general theory.

But what happens if we read the Latin American papers from that other strategy of comparative research also identified by Skocpol and Somers, the contrast of context approach. If that is the case, we will learn that the growth of the NGO sector in Latin America can be explained by causes that are unique to the region. The acknowledgment of these other causes is important because it helps to specify the particularities of the Latin American process and also because it may contribute to enrich the hypothesis of the general theory.

What are those special features that distinguish the evolution of the Latin American cases from the mainstream cases? It can be inferred from several of the papers being reviewed that the specific characteristics of the political context in Latin America had an important impact on the emergence and nature of the NGOs that have developed. Indeed, in several papers it is recognized that given the past and in some cases present authoritarian character of the Latin American political systems and the tasks confronted in the democratization process, an important set of NGOs has mushroomed with specific political goals. They are not political parties and they have to fight with them in order to maintain their autonomy. However, they have been born as a response to a specific political context and with specific political and civil missions. Andrés Thompson for example, asserts

"that NGOs in developing countries are characterized to a large extent by its linkages to social movements and the political system. This stems from the fact that the new NGOs -which are only part of a broader and older Third Sector- were born under severe political constraints and they have always had a political vision which orients its action towards, on the one hand, the empowerment of the poor and the marginalized and, on the other, to changes in the political regime and in public policies."⁶

Several of the reviewed papers reconfirm and illustrate this hypothesis. Kerianne Piester and Douglas Chalmers, for example, note in regard to the Mexican case

"the proliferation of NGOs, populating politics with many new voices. They are making claims for competitive and clean elections, environmental protection, indigenous rights, women´s rights, fair trade, and array of services for the excluded majority of poor Mexicans."

And they add,

"although the NGOs are principally concerned with providing services to various social groups, many have deliberately or unintentionally become part of the political process.....Whatever their motivation or origin they appear to be fostering new political practices and interaction with the state that we believe are transforming the conduct of Mexican politics."⁷

Similar premises regarding the role that previous political conditions had in the proliferation of NGOs in Latin America and in defining their mission can be found in the papers written by Foley and Hasbún Barake; Bonamusa and Villar; Armony; Aguilar; Fernández Rodríguez and Villalobos Gryzbowicz; Pérez Yarahuan and García-Junco Machado.

What is the relevance of these findings for the general theory on the evolution of the NGOs? And in which ways does this origin affect the tasks and challenges faced by the Latin American Third Sector?

By establishing one other causal factor to explain the development of the NGOs these papers show that the general theory may have overlooked one important cause. If that is the case perhaps an additional hypothesis can be considered for empirical validation.

The greater the crisis of the representation and accountability mechanisms, the greater the chances that NGOs will develop and perform representational, advocacy and accountability functions.

Which are the implications of this hypothesis? If the trademark of these organizations is that their origin is associated with failures of the political system, then it is likely that their tasks and missions will be directed toward certain and specific goals. Then, the specificity of the context may explain not only their origin but also the characteristics of their practice. Indeed, one of the features reported in the papers regarding the functions of some of the new NGOs is that they have concentrated on the creation of social trust and on the improvement of accountability and representation mechanisms. Although it is recognized that the state has an important role to fulfill in the development of these conditions and that it cannot be replaced, NGOs can play an important part in their creation by overseeing how the state is fulfilling these institutional tasks and by overseeing their own activities. Examples of this civil and political role can be found in the papers of Thompson; Armony; Bonamusa and Villar; González Bombal and Roitter; and Piester and Chalmers. Given the specific socio political situation of the region, the concentration of the Latin American NGOs on transparency and accountability of the political system makes sense because it helps to improve the political welfare of the people and it assures access to justice, free elections, and the exercise of citizen's rights. In addition, it has to be noted that the sustainability of the Third Sector as such may depend on the success these organizations achieve in their watchdog functions of the political system. From a long run perspective, the relevance of the NGO´s watchdog functions of state and governmental offices cannot be understated. One of the salient features of the North American Third Sector has been its ability to attract the cooperation of individuals and corporations that are willing to give time and/or money. This willingness cannot be attributed only to the naivety or the good will of American culture. It takes place because people and corporations trust what these organizations will do and where their efforts will go. And they trust because they have ways to make these organizations accountable, that is, they have a state that can make these organizations accountable.

In the Latin American cases, where accountability mechanisms are weak or nonexistent, to trust and to give can be seen as signs of stupidity or of extreme ingenuity. Then, the creation of trust and of accountability mechanisms is important not only because it leads to the welfare of the people but also because it may be the only hope for the sustainability of the sector involved in the creation of those conditions. Advocacy NGOs may act as watchdogs of public policies, as advocates of legal control measures and as watchdogs of the actions of the existing NGOs.

Given the current socioeconomic situation of Latin American societies, it is likely that most NGOs will center their efforts on the provision of specific and needed social services. However, it has to be noted that given the political and institutional problems of the region, the survival of service provider NGOs may be in jeopardy unless accountability mechanisms are established in order to warrant an autonomous development of the sector. For these reasons, the development of NGOs dedicated to watchdog functions of state and governmental offices that have specified the Latin American case cannot be disregarded.

Before concluding this section, one last comment. Is this statement a modified version of the state failure hypothesis? Aren't we saying that, given the state's inability to provide and guarantee a public good such as the "institutions of liberty,"⁸ NGOs are the alternative to fullfil the task? In contrast to the possible role of NGOs in the state or market failure hypothesis, in this case NGOs cannot replace, not even in a partial scale, the state's ability to provide these goods. This inability does not derive, as is the case in the state or market failure hypothesis, from insufficient resources, but from the fact that as non public organizations, they are unable to universally oblige their acceptance as providers of these goods. Indeed, in so far as constitutional and republican institutions are characterized by their universality and by their non voluntary character, and since NGOs do not have the legitimate monopoly of the use of force, then it follows that they are structurally unable to fulfill the task. Consequently, in this case, NGOs can only aspire to oversee the performance of institutions that have the ability and the might to perform those functions. They may even redefine their scope; but they cannot act as alternative providers of such public goods.

II.

In this section I will consider the second question mentioned at the outset of this comment. In some of the papers,⁹ it is suggested that a sizable NGO sector is not necessarily related to the development of more democratic societies. Independent of the arguments advanced to support this assertion, I understand it is important to concentrate the discussion on it because it implies a review of one of the most established concepts regarding the relevance and benefits provided by the emergence of the Third Sector. Indeed, if the suggestion can be verified or if it can be demonstrated under what conditions it may operate, one basic premise of the literature might end up being revised.

Since the publication of Democracy in America, the links between the disposition to form associations and the development of democracy has been considered an uncontestable fact. In the sixties, for example, Almond and Powell¹⁰ included a similar argument in their developmental typology of political systems when they asserted that democratic systems were the result of high subsystem autonomy and high structural differentiation. One of the latest examples of studies that take this argument as a premise is Robert Putnam´s influential book Making Democracy Work.¹¹ It is in this context that the counterintuitive assertion "the existence of a strong and active civil society does not guarantee more democracy"¹² has to be examined.

Of course, we can start the discussion by asking how to measure the strength and the activity of the civil society. I will not follow that path. It will take us through endless and fruitless discussions regarding which are the appropriate indicators for such a measure. And it will also conceal one important question that can be derived from this assertion, that it is only under certain conditions that NGOs may have an impact on the nature of the political regimes. Specifically, the statement implies that the impact of NGOs on the characteristics of the political regime is not related to the number of organizations of the civil society but to the specific type of relationship they are able to establish with the state;¹³ therefore, it is not the arithmetical proliferation of organizations that determines the effectiveness of the civil society but the specific type of linkages they establish with the state.

Illustrating this latter type of argument, Bonamusa and Villar¹⁴ mention the Colombian case where 42,000 Juntas de Accion Comunal, 13,000 Cooperativas, 2,700 clubs and 5,346 NGOs can be found and where, according to their evaluation, Colombia's civil society cannot be characterized as neither strong nor effective. From the Colombian case Bonamusa and Villar distinguish three possible forms of linkages between the State and civil society. In one of them, civil society is organized autonomously and independently from the state. Its organizations appear as an alternative to the State. They do not confront it nor do they pressure it in order to influence public policy but they attempt to develop social policy through self management of societal resources. In this perspective the proliferation of NGOs is a sign of the strength of the civil society. In the second alternative, NGOs are organized in order to influence the orientation of the state policies. To be successful in their attempts to influence public policy NGOs are obliged to confront and to negotiate with the State. From this perspective the strength of civil society is the result of the NGO's ability to extract governmental resources. However, since in order to be successful these organizations must negotiate with the State, they run the risk of being co-opted by it. The third alternative asserts that a strong civil society is related to the ability of NGOs to promote and defend public and collective interests. From this perspective, the definition of the common good does not belong exclusively to the NGOs nor to the State. It results from the combined action of the NGOs and the State. Their interaction allows not only an increase of citizen participation but also a democratization of state procedures. Thus, it is important not only what these organizations may obtain from the State but how they redefine and modernize the legal conditions under which the State and these organizations operate. In this case, the strength of civil society is revealed by its ability to create a climate that fosters citizen participation in the definition, and control of public matters.

Independently of the specific comments that each of these positions may warrant, it is clear that the specific linkages established between the organizations of the civil society and the State become the key issue in analyzing their impact on the nature of the political regime. This conclusion has a series of consequences that must be spelled out:

1) It redefines the premise regarding the relationship between the existence of NGOs and type of regime. It shows that the number of NGOs may be a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to determine the nature of the resulting political regime.

2) It sets a research agenda in so far as it implies that future studies must concentrate on the type of linkages being established rather than on the organizations as such. The relevance of considering the political institutional scenario in which these organizations operate ends up reemphasized.

3) It opens the question regarding which is the most convenient or most adequate linkage for the success of their activities.

4) It opens the question regarding the strategy, that is, what should be done to create the "adequate" linkages for NGO's success.

Curiously, the consideration of this second question took us to a problem similar to the one we examined at the end of the previous section. It has been suggested that the characteristics of the civil society are determined by the organizations that form it but also by the institutional environment in which they operate. This institutional environment determines the chances that the civil society can become an autonomous sphere of social interaction¹⁵ and allows or precludes its ability to shape it. Then again, it must be concluded that the characteristics of that scenario and how it is shaped should be at the center of our concerns.

The conclusion has theoretical and practical consequences. On the one hand, it shows that unless the general theory considers the political and institutional environment, and the particular types of linkages established in each society between these organizations and the State, the ways in which these organizations affect the socio-political landscape will remain obscure. In terms of a research agenda this means that we should bring the state/society linkage back in. On the other hand, if we agree that the institutional environment has an impact on the livelihood of these organizations and on the success of their actions, it follows that the acknowledgment of the institutional conditions of the Latin American region sets an agenda for action for these organizations. Given the weakness of protective constitutional institutions, the weakness of the accountability mechanisms and of the state legal authority, the action agenda of the regional NGOs appears associated with the creation of those conditions that may improve the quality of life and at the same time warrant the future of the organizations of the civil society.

Catalina Smulovitz is professor of Political Science at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires and member of CONICET. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science at The Pennsylvania State University. Currently, she is doing research on citizendship and the legal system in Argentina.

REFERENCES

Aguilar, Luis, "Development, Participation and the Third Sector in Latin America"; Arellanes Jiménez, Paulino Ernesto, "The Role and Contribution of NGOs in Public Policies: Forum of Business Exchange in the State of Puebla"; Armony, Ariel, "Coercion, Co-optation or Democratization?: The New Human and Civil Rights NGOs vis-a-vis Public Institutions in Argentina"; Avila García, Patricia, "The Mexican NGOs and Their Impact in the Environmental Policy"; Benítez, Marcela, "The Supportive Role of the ONGs and the Vanishing Small Villages in Argentina. A Regional Analysis"; Bettoni Schafer, Analía and Vázquez Novoa, Graciela, "The Third Sector in Uruguay: Mobilization of Human and Economic Resources and their Impact on Development"; Biagini, Graciela and Sánchez, Marita, "Public Policies, NGOs and HIV/AIDS Complex: Argentina's Case"; Bifarello, Mónica, "NGOs and Policies on Children Under Conditions of Exclusion"; Bonamusa, Margarita and Villar, Rodrigo, "The Role of NGOs in Strengthening Civil Society: The Colombian Case"; Castro y Castro, Fernando, "Change in Relations Between the Government and the Third Sector"; Coulomb, René and Herrasti, Emilia María, "The Role of Mexican NGOs in Urban and Housing Policies"; de la Maza, Gonzalo, "Financial Mechanisms and the Non-Profit Sector in Chile"; Fernández Rodríguez, Rosa Mariá and Villalobos Gryzbowicz, Jorge, "The Third Sector and Democratic Transition in Mexico"; Foley, Michael W. and Hasbún Barake, Franzi Miguel, "NGOs, Democracy and Development in the New El Salvador"; González Bombal, Inés and Roitter, Mario Marcos, "Funds Mobilization in Argentine Civil Society"; Gordon, Sara, "The Mexican Foundation for Rural Development. Proposal for an Investigation"; Jiménez de la Jara, Marcela, "Government and Third Sector in Chile: Toward a Synergistic Relationship"; Mack Echeverría, Luis Fernando, "Education, State and Civil Society in Guatemala"; Méndez, José Luis and Ríos Herrán, Rogelio, "NGOs and Industrial Politics. The Case of ADMIC in Nuevo León"; Merege, Luiz Carlos and Aquino Alves, Mário, "Developing Business Philanthropy by Education: A Brazilian Experience"; Parra Vázquez, Manuel and Moguel Viveros, Reyna, "The Urgency of NGOs Among Indian Coffee Growers in Chiapas. Strategies Before Agricultural Politics"; Pérez Yarahuan, Gabriela and García-Junco Machado, David, "A Law for the Third Sector? NGO Legislation in Mexico. Analysis of a Proposal"; Piester, Kerianne and Chalmers, Douglas, "Non Governmental Organizations, Public Policy, and the Changing Structure of Mexican Politics"; Rapone, Anita and Simpson, Charles, "Refugee Organization in Exile for Economic Development: The Guatemalans' Permanent Commissions"; Rodríguez Herrera, América, "NGOs and Educational Policies in El Salvador: EDUCO's Experience"; Schapira, Lidia, "The Leadership of Women in Assistance Organizations"; Schteingart, Martha, "The Research-Action and the Relationships Between Academic Institutions, NGOs and the State for the Proposal and Application of Social Policies for the Urban Poor"; Suarez de Soto, María Helena and Pinedo Guerra, Melba, "NGOs as Developmental Vehicles and Motors in the City of Cali"; Tarrés Barraza, María Luisa, "Identity and Projects of NGOs Devoted to Women"; Thompson, Andrés, "Night and Day: Cooperation and Conflict Between the Third Sector and the State in Argentina"; Valadares de Carvalho, Nanci, "The Sustainable Action of North and South NGOs"; Vives, Carmela, "NGOs and the State: Experiences of a State Sponsored Program for the Training of Community Youth Leaders"

ENDNOTES

1. Salamon, Lester and Helmut Anheier, "Explaining the Nonprofit Sector: A Cross National Analysis," (MIMEO) Paper Presented at the Second International Conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research. Mexico. 1996.

2. Mack Echeverría, references (my translation).

3. Biagini and Sánchez, references (my translation).

4. Bifarello, references (my translation). See also Avila García; Parra Vázquez and Mogel Viveros; Gordon; Rodríguez Herrera; Benítez, references.

5. Skocpol, Theda and Margaret Somers, "The Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiry" in Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol. 22, 1980.

6. Thompson, Andrés, references.

7. Piester and Chalmers, references.

8. Habermas, Jurgen, "Citizenship and National Identity: Some Reflections on the Future of Europe," in Praxis International 12:1 (April 1992).

9. See Armony; Bonamusa and Villar, references.

10. Almond, Gabriel and Powell, Bingham, Comparative Politics (Little Brown and Company: 1978).

11. Putnam, Robert, Making Democracy Work. Civic Traditions in Modern Italy (Princeton University Press, 1993).

12. Armony, references.

13. From different perspectives the importance of the nature of the relationship between the state and the NGOs is addressed in the following papers: Jiménez de la Jara; Coulomb and Herrasti; Piester and Chalmers; Pérez Yarahuan and García-Junco Machado.

14. Bonamusa and Villar, references.

15. Peruzzotti, Enrique, "Civil Society and the Modern Constitutional Complex: The Argentine Experience" in Constellations, Vol. 4 No. 1, 1997. p. 95.