Southeast and Northeast Asian NGO Experiences: Intervening in State-led 'Economic Miracles'

Abstract

With the current frenzy engulfing the Asian region’s governments to take advantage of its current status as the world’s primary economic region, Asian nongovernmental organizations have a crucial role in highlighting the pitfalls of development which are not only insensitive but detrimental to the needs of the vast majority of the area’s population. This paper looks into the factors that gave rise to the emergence of these NGOs in their Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian contexts, the nature of the alternate societies that they are proposing, and their ability to overcome the obstacles that they meet. Through such an investigation, this paper hopes to give a clue on the effectiveness of these NGOs and their relevance as harbingers of pro-people development.