A/499097

The Effectiveness of Domestic Human Rights NGOs A Comparative Study

By

Scott Calnan

M A RTIN US

NIJHQFF PUBLISHERS

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2008

Contents Tables and Figures Major Abbreviations

xi xiii

Introduction 1. The Concept of the Enforcement of Human Rights Law Models of Human Rights Enforcement Model C and the Enforcement of Human Rights Law 2. The Definition and Taxonomy of Human Rights NGOs 3. The Importance of Studying Human Rights DNGOs

1 2 2 3 5 10

Chapter One Theoretical Approach and Method 1.1. Introduction 1.2. The Use of Comparative Law 1.3. The Concept of the Mobilisation of Law 1.3.1. Mobilisation of Law by Individuals 1.3.2. Mobilisation of Law by Movements and Associations 1.3.3. Mobilisation of International Law 1.3.4. The Requirements of Mobilisation of Law 1.3.5. The Importance of Organisation 1.4. The Use of Case Studies 1.5. Methodology Used to Collect the Data 1.6. The Nationalist Path to Human Rights Enforcement 1.7. The Social and Political Environment in which the Law is Mobilised 1.8. Outlines of the Case Studies

15 15 16 20 20 20 23 24 25 26 28 29

Chapter Two The Tactics of Human Rights DNGOs in United States, Britain and Germany 2.1. Typology of D N G O Tactics 2.1.1. First Order Tactics 2.1.2. Second Order Tactics 2.1.3. Third Order Tactics 2.2. The Comprehensive Tactical Stance 2.3. The Case Studies

30 31

35 36 36 37 40 44 46

viii

Contents 2.3.1. 2.3.2. 2.3.3. 2.3.4.

The American Case Studies The British Case Studies The German Case Studies Conclusion

Chapter Three The Structure of Human Rights DNGOs in the United States, Britain and Germany 3.1. Relevant Concepts of Organisation Theory 3.1.1. The Mission 3.1.2. Organisational Culture 3.1.3. Organisational Design 3.1.4. The Institutional Perspective in Organisation Theory 3.1.5. Types of Structures 3.1.6. The Degree of Centralisation 3.1.7. Ideal Types of Human Rights DNGO Structures 3.1.8. The "Balanced Model" of Structural Design for Human Rights DNGOs 3.2. The Case Studies 3.2.1. LDF 3.2.2. LCCRUL 3.2.3. CCR 3.2.4. JUSTICE 3.2.5. BIRW 3.2.6. CAJ 3.2.7. HU 3.2.8. KGD 3.2.9. GBM 3.3. Conclusion 3.3.1. Overall Characteristics 3.3.2. Structural Adaptation to Tactics 3.3.3. The Effects of Organisational Culture Chapter Four The Acquisition of Resources by Human Rights DNGOs in the United States, Britain and Germany 4.1. Types of Resources 4.2. Sources of Resources 4.3. The Diversified Approach to Resource Acquisition 4.4. The Case Studies - Preliminary Remarks 4.5. Case Studies — Comparison and Analysis 4.5.1. LDF 4.5.2. LCCRUL 4.5.3. CCR

46 65 79 97

103 104 105 105 106 106 107 108 108 109 Ill 112 120 127 133 139 144 148 155 161 165 166 167 168

171 173 176 185 186 188 188 191 195

Contents

4.5.4. 4.5.5. 4.5.6. 4.5.7. 4.5.8. 4.5.9. 4.5.10.

JUSTICE BIRW CAJ HU KGD GBM Conclusion

Chapter Five The Effectiveness of Domestic Human Rights DNGOs in the United States, Britain and Germany 5.1. The Method Used 5.1.1. Previous Theories About NGO Effectiveness 5.1.2. Some Preliminary Remarks 5.1.3. Theoretical Problems That The Approach in this Work Tries to Overcome 5.2. Implementation of the Method 5.2.1. Triangulations 5.2.2. The Dispute Centred View of Legal Effectiveness 5.2.3. Resource Use 5.3. Forms of Effectiveness 5.3.1. Agenda Effectiveness 5.3.2. Goal Effectiveness 5.3.3. Overall Effectiveness 5.4. The Case Studies 5.4.1. LDF 5.4.2. LCCRUL 5.4.3. CCR 5.4.4. JUSTICE 5.4.5. BIRW 5.4.6. CAJ 5.4.7. HU 5.4.8. KGD 5.4.9. GBM 5.5. Conclusion Chapter Six Conclusion 6.1. Important Patterns That Emerged in the Study 6.1.1. The Non-Reflexivity of the Case Studies 6.1.2. Organisational Abilities Determine Effectiveness 6.1.3. Success in Areas of Organisational Ability are Cumulative

ix

199 202 205 208 212 216 220

229 229 229 230 232 237 237 240 240 241 241 243 244 245 245 256 264 272 280 287 293 302 309 320 325 325 326 327 327

Contents

6.1.4. 6.1.5. 6.1.6. 6.1.7. 6.1.8. 6.1.9. 6.1.10. 6.1.11. 6.1.12.

6.1.13.

Good Design in Some Areas of Organisational Ability Can Cancel Out Bad Design in Others The Importance of Organisational Culture on Effectiveness The Method Used in this Work to Assess Effectiveness is Capable of Giving Accurate Results The 'Major Players' Among DNGOs are Not Always the Most Effective The Case Studies Show Greater Resemblance to Each Other Within, Rather Than Across, Jurisdictions The Case Studies That Focus on Legal Work Have Mechanical Designs DNGOs Composed of Public Intellectuals Have Organic Structures A DNGO's Structure and Organisational Culture are Strongly Affected by the Beliefs of its Founders DNGO Tactics Determined by the Relative Pull of Legitimacy and Rational Adaptation to the Environment Sources of Money Capital Can be Either Constraining or Liberating in Terms of Tactics

328 328 329 330 330 331 332 332

332 333

Appendix

335

Bibliography

339

Index

355