TNGO presents: Christopher Pallas

Christopher Pallas, Assistant Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University

Undemocratic Activism? Transnational Civil Society, the World Bank, and the Democratization of Global Governance

For much of the past 20 years, scholars and practitioners have argued that transnational civil society organizations (CSOs) can act to remedy power imbalances within global governance. They have argued that the UN and the World Bank privilege the interests of the Northern societies over those in the global South, who are marginalized in the decision-making processes and also disproportionately impacted by the resulting policy. However, new research is showing that civil society itself is divided by disparities in power and resources between CSOs.

Drawing on evidence from civil society engagement with the World Bank, Dr. Pallas will show how CSO advocacy is heavily influenced by the pre-existing views of professional activists and the financial incentives created by their donors, and how CSOs exploit State power in advancing their policy agendas.

Christopher Pallas is Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, where he was a member of the Centre for Civil Society. His research integrates issues of civil society, democracy, and global governance, examining how NGO advocacy impacts the representation of low- and middle-income country populations in international policy making. 

Sponsored by the Transnational NGO Initiative at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs