ABSTRACT
Economic and political contexts vary widely among the six countries reviewed here. Contrasting colonial histories among, for example, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asian countries have had specific cultural and administrative legacies. Others (Thailand, Nepal) have been touched only lightly by colonialism. Violent political upheaval (e.g. marking the independence of Bangladesh) gave birth to political movements whose members went on to establish NGOs, and some were eventually constituted as political parties. In other countries, NGOs arose from long traditions of social welfare provision by local groups. Both elected and military governments are to be found in the region, but while many NGOs find the scope of their activities circumscribed by military government in Indonesia, the 1991 military coup in Thailand ironically appeared to offer, in its early months, a more favourable environment for NGOs than had the previous civilian government. 1 Inefficiency, bureaucratic procedures and, in some cases, corruption are longstanding points of friction in NGO-state relations in South Asia.
