ABSTRACT
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are a prominent force in global environmental politics. Global environmental governance scholars often differentiate between NGOs’ role as advocates for particular policies and their role as global governors. Global governance scholars contend that non-state actors represent a new form of authority whose interactions constitute alternative public spaces for confronting global issues. NGOs also target multinational corporations through consumer boycotts and shareholder activism. Specialized knowledge and expertise along with appeals to moral arguments are key sources of leverage in NGO advocacy work. Some critical scholars challenge the assumption that NGOs are a positive force in global environmental governance, arguing that they may perpetuate environmental degradation by reinforcing the neoliberal economic order. NGOs reproduce this dominant ideology, and thereby serve the interests of the global elite, by contributing to the shift toward non-state and market-based forms of environmental governance.
