ABSTRACT
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have gained increasing prominence in global politics. They are carriers of new ideas, draw attention to prevailing problems, contribute to the emergence of norms, hold governments to account by monitoring their actions and shame states that breach international treaties and agreements. Both the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the International Coalition to Ban Landmines in 1997 and the role NGOs played in bringing negotiations on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment to a halt in 1998 show their growing influence in international affairs.
