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Sustaining Regional Environmental NGOs in Latin America and Eastern Europe: Considering the Experience of the FARN and the REC

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 15; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13562576.2011.567902

1470-1235

Thomas O’Brien,

Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

Abstract Democratisation presents opportunities and threats to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Greater openness associated with democratic regimes provides opportunities for participation and influence not previously available. At the same time, increasing state capacity may threaten the continued relevance of NGOs. The article examines the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) of Argentina and the Regional Environmental Center (REC) of eastern Europe to assess environmental support organisations in post-authoritarian contexts. The aims of the article are to identify opportunities and threats to environmental support organisations and to examine the strategies they adopt to advance their interests and achieve their goals. Notes The research used to analyse the Regional Environmental Centre (REC) was obtained through five interviews conducted with staff at the head office in Szentendre, Hungary, in May and June 2007. Information on the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) draws on a semi-structured interview with a former senior official and written answers to the same questions provided by a current staff member in September 2009. Scruggs (1999 Scruggs, L. (1999) Institutions and environmental performance in seventeen western democracies, British Journal of Political Science, 29(1), pp. 1–31. [Google Scholar]) notes that the ability of a regime to introduce reform is determined by factors as diverse as electoral rules, separation of executive and legislative accountability, ideology of the governing party, federal complexity and consensual or majoritarian political institutions. The Treaty of Asunción states that the "economic development of the region should be accompanied by environmental preservation." (Jacobs and Maldonado, 2005 Jacobs, J. and Maldonado, M. 2005. Civil society in Argentina: opportunities and challenges for national and transnational organisation. Journal of Latin American Studies, 37(1): 141–172. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 148). On coming to power, President Nestor "Kirchner [2003] focused government policy on rebuilding Argentina's industrial base, public works and public services" indicating a desire to strengthen state capacity and move away from the adherence to the Washington Consensus (Grugel and Riggirozzi, 2007 Grugel, J. and Riggirozzi, M. (2007) The return of the state in Argentina, International Affairs, 83(1), pp. 87–107. [Google Scholar], p. 97). A REC official argued that the US was interested in building a friendly civil society, while the EU was looking towards future enlargement (REC official, interview, 2 May 2007 REC (2007) The REC's Mission (http://www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/what_is.html; accessed 22 January 2007). [Google Scholar]). For a more detailed examination of the organisational development of REC, see O'Brien, 2010 O'Brien, T. 2010. Stuck in the middle: maintaining the organizational legitimacy of the regional environmental center. Voluntas, 21(3): 339–357. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. The NewRECs are operationally independent of REC, but have a similar organisational structure. NewRECs were established in Moldova, Russia and Ukraine in 1998, with the Caucasus REC (Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia) and the central Asia REC (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) established in 2000. Additional informationNotes on contributorsThomas O'BrienThe research on the REC was supported by a Postgraduate Overseas Research Experience scholarship from the University of Melbourne. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Political Science Association of Ireland (PSAI) Conference, Liverpool Hope University, 9–11 October 2009. The article was strengthened by comments from Petra Mäkelä and two anonymous reviewers.