Mia Liinason
Research Responsible | Professor
"Drawing the line" and other small scale resistances : Exploring agency and ambiguity in transnational feminist and queer NGOs
Author
Summary, in English
This article explores the discourses, actors, and cross-border exchanges that
shape the broader landscape of contemporary transnational feminist and
queer non-governmental organizations (NGOs). While several studies have
pointed to the co-opted role of NGOs, fewer have explored the potential for
NGOs to influence the conditions under which they operate. That is what this
article sets out to do, with the goal of highlighting the potential for feminist
and queer NGOs to engage in oppositional politics within contexts of
neoliberalism. Based on material collected during ethnographic fieldwork with
transnational feminist and queer NGOs, this article examines how NGOs
position themselves in relation to the political and financial structures that
condition their work; how and to what effect the emerging professional class
of NGO activists navigate the contradictory landscapes within which they are
located; and the ambiguities of cross-border exchanges among NGOs. The
article shows examples of agency and small-scale resistance, but also
illuminates the palpable risks of existing neoliberal tendencies among funders
and NGOs. I conclude that transnational feminist and queer NGOs have much
to gain from intervening more decisively in such ambiguities as those
examined in this article.
shape the broader landscape of contemporary transnational feminist and
queer non-governmental organizations (NGOs). While several studies have
pointed to the co-opted role of NGOs, fewer have explored the potential for
NGOs to influence the conditions under which they operate. That is what this
article sets out to do, with the goal of highlighting the potential for feminist
and queer NGOs to engage in oppositional politics within contexts of
neoliberalism. Based on material collected during ethnographic fieldwork with
transnational feminist and queer NGOs, this article examines how NGOs
position themselves in relation to the political and financial structures that
condition their work; how and to what effect the emerging professional class
of NGO activists navigate the contradictory landscapes within which they are
located; and the ambiguities of cross-border exchanges among NGOs. The
article shows examples of agency and small-scale resistance, but also
illuminates the palpable risks of existing neoliberal tendencies among funders
and NGOs. I conclude that transnational feminist and queer NGOs have much
to gain from intervening more decisively in such ambiguities as those
examined in this article.
Department/s
- Department of Gender Studies
Publishing year
2021-07-16
Language
English
Pages
102-124
Publication/Series
International Feminist Journal of Politics
Volume
23
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Gender Studies
Keywords
- Feminism
- queer
- NGOs
- transnational
- neoliberalism
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1468-4470