Volume 6, Number 3

• Editorial
  • Editorial 6(3)
    Eade, Deborah
• Articles
  • `Dancing with the prince': NGOs' survival strategies in the Afghan conflict
    Goodhand, Jonathan; Chamberlain, Peter
  • Handing over an operational project to community management in North Darfur, Sudan
    Strachan, Peter
  • Institutional development in practice: a case-study from the Tibetan refugee community
    Fisher, Thomas; Mahajan, Vijay; Topgyal Tsering
  • New communication technologies in tropical African development
    Domatob, Jerry Komia; Ausmus, William A.; Butler, John M.
• Viewpoint
  • Let's get civil society straight: NGOs and political theory
    Whaites, Alan
  • NGOs, the poor, and local government
    Collier, Christopher
• Practical Notes
  • Brazilian NGOs: from grassroots to national civic leadership
    Garrison, John W.
  • An NGO scales up in Gujerat
    Allsebrook, Annie
  • Pit latrines and participation: the MAPET Project in Dar es Salaam
    Muller, Maria; Rijnsburger, Jaap
• Conference Report
  • NGOs, civil society and the State: building democracy in transitional countries
    Roche, Chris
• Research Roundup
  • NGOs and the State: a case-study from Uganda
    Cannon, Christy
  • Getting down to ground level: a community perspective on social development
    Dey, Krishno; Westendorff, David
• Book Reviews

`Dancing with the prince': NGOs' survival strategies in the Afghan conflict

Goodhand, Jonathan; Chamberlain, Peter

Afghan NGOs have been a major provider of humanitarian aid throughout the Afghan conflict. They remained operational during this period by `dancing' with and between the various parties to the conflict, their survival contingent on their ability to build ad hoc patterns of alliance and Cupertino. This article explores the nature of `the dance' between NGOs, the warring parties, and the NGOs' constituencies. It asks whether `dancing with the prince' represents an accommodation with violence or is a necessary compromise which will ultimately contribute to resolving the conflict. It concludes by drawing out key lessons for donors who support indigenous NGOs operating in complex political emergencies.

An updated version of this article is freely available as a chapter in Development NGOs and Civil Society.

Keywords: Aid; Civil society; Conflict and reconstruction; Governance and public policy; South Asia

   

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