The Relationship Structure Between Iranian NGOs and the Government

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Postdoctoral Researcher of Public Administration، Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran Iran

Abstract

This study investigated the status of Iranian NGOs in the political-administrative and sociocultural context of Iran, using the grounded theory methodology. The data analysis in this method involves extracting categories from the data and then identifying the relationship between the categories. The data derived from semi-structured interviews indicated that the Iranian NGOs’ status is intertwined with the government’s policies. In this respect, the relationship structure between these two sectors is mapped at the macro level in a seesaw model, which revealed an asymmetrically balanced relationship. That is, while the relationship is in a critical and unfair situation (asymmetrical), the government is alive and holds power (balanced). However, the research findings demonstrated that all elements of society are capable of changing this critical situation and the unfair order of the country. Discovering the relationship structure between NGOs and government in a different context like Iran can open new horizons for policymakers and researchers around the world.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Almog-Bar, M. (2021). Civil society organizations in collaborative governance: Cross-sector partnerships as a test case. In N. Sher-Hadar, L. Lahat, & I. Galnoor (Eds.), Collaborative governance (pp. 217-240). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Banks, N., Hulme, D., & Edwards, M. (2015). NGOs, states, and donors revisited: Still too close for comfort? World Development, 66, 707–718.
Brass, J. N., Longhofer, W., Robinson, R. S., & Schnable, A. (2018). NGOs and international development: A review of thirty-five years of scholarship. World Development, 112, 136-49.
Brinkerhoff, J. M. (2002). Government–nonprofit partnership: A defining framework. Public Administration and Development: The International Journal of Management Research and Practice, 22(1), 19-30.
Coston, J. M. (1998). A model and typology of government-NGO relationships. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 27(3), 358-382.
Davies, T. (2018). The historical evelopment of NGOs. In A. Kellow, & H. Murphy-Gregory (Eds.), Handbook of research on NGOs (pp. 15-34). Edward Elgar Publishing
Furneaux, C. W., & Ryan, N. (2014). Modelling NPO–government relations: Australian case studies. Public Management Review,16(8), 1113-1140.
Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2007). The purpose (and perils) of government-nonprofit partnership. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(3), 389-415.
Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Sociology Press.
Glasser, B. G. (1992). Emergence vs forcing: Basics of grounded theory analysis. Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. G. (1998). Doing grounded theory: Issues and discussions. Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. G. (2002). Conceptualization: On theory and theorizing using grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(2), 23-38.
Glaser, B. G. (2005). The grounded theory perspective III: Theoretical coding. Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. G., & Holton. (2005). Staying open: The use of theoretical codes in grounded theory. The Grounded Theory Review, 5(1), 1-20.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Transaction.
Jones, M., & Alony, I. (2011). Guiding the use of grounded theory in doctoral studies – An example from the Australian film industry. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 6, 95-114.
Legatum Instittute Foundation (2021). The Legatum Prosperity Index TM. https://www.prosperity.com/globe#IRN
Lewis, D. (2010). Nongovernmental organizations, definition and history. In H. K. Anheier, S. Toepler, & R. A. List (Eds.), International encyclopedia of civil society (pp. 1056-1062). Springer.
Locke, K. D. (2001). Grounded theory in management research. Sage Publications Limited.
LotfiKhachaki, B., & ImaniJajarmi, H. (2020). Study of obstacles againt social problems familiarizatiom in non-governmental organizations. Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran, 9(1), 131-160.
Ma, J., & Konrath, S. (2018). A century of nonprofit studies: Scaling the knowledge of the field. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 29(6), 1139-58.
Malena, C. (1995). Working with NGOs: A practical guide to operational collaboration between the world bank and nongovernmental organizations [working report # 15013].  World Bank. https://documents.worldbank.org/pt/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/814581468739240860/working-with-ngos-a-practical-guide-to-operational-collaboration-between-the-world-bank-and-nongovernmental-organizations
Martens, K. (2002). Mission impossible? Defining nongovernmental organizations. Voluntas: International Journl of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations,13(3), 271-285.
Mercer, C. (2002). NGOs, civil society and democratization: A critical review of the literature. Progress in Development Studies, 2(1), 5-22.
Min, B. H. (2021). Hybridization in government-civil society organization relashionships: An institutional logic perspective. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 32(3), 1-20.
Morgan, G. G. (December 9, 2015). The end of charity? Valedictory lecture, Sheffield Hallam University.
Nwauche. S. (2021). An evaluation of the effectiveness of government-non-profit organizations partnership in the delivery of social services. Development in Practice, 32(5), 1-17.
Saghravani, S., Mortazavi, S., Lagzian M., & Rahim-Nia, F. (2014). Forcing theory on data or emerging theory from data: Theory building in humanities using grounded theory methodology [In Persian]. Foundations of Education, 4(1), 170-151.
Salamon, L. M. (1995). Partners in public service: Government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Salamon, L. M. (2002). The tools of government: A guide to the new governance. Oxford University Press.
Salamon, L. M., & Anheier H. K. (1992). In search of the non-profit sector I: The question of definitions. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 3(2), 125-51.
Salamon, L. M., & Sokolowski S. W. (2016). Beyond nonprofits: Re-conceptualizing the third sector. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27(4), 1515-45.
Salamon, L. M., & Toepler, S. (2015). Government-nonprofit Cooperation: Anomaly and necessity? Voluntas:International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26(6), 2155-2177.
Shier, M. L., & Handy, F. (2014). Research trends in nonprofit graduate studies: A growing interdisciplinary field. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(5), 812-31.
Shnurbein, G. V., Rey-Garcia, M., & Neumayr, M. (2021). Contemporary philanthropy in the spotlight: Pushing the boundaries of research on a global and contested social practice. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 32(2), 185-193.
Smith, D. H. (2013). Growth of research associations and journals in the emerging discipline of altruistics. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(4), 638-56.
Toepler, S., & Abramson, A. (2021). Government/foundation Rlations: A conceptual framework and evidence from the U.S. federal government’s partnership efforts. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 32(2), 220-233.
United Nations Statistics Division (2003). Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts. United Nations Publication.
United Nations, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development, & World Bank (2008). System of national accounts 2008. United Nations.
Vakil, A. C. (1997). Confronting the classification problem: Toward a taxonomy of NGOs. World Development, 25(12), 2057-2070.
Vakil, A. C. (2018). A return to the classification problem: Revising a framework for studying NGOs. In A. Kellow, & H. Murphy-Gregory (Eds.), Handbook of research on NGOs (pp. 95-113). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Williamson, A. K., Luke, B., & Furneaux, C. (2021). Ties that bind: Public foundations in dyadic partnerships. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 32(2), 234-246.
Xu, C., & Kim, M. (2021). Loss or gain: Unpacking nonprofit autonomy-interdependence paradox in collaborations. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(4), 308-324.
Yaghoobi, E., NooshirvanBaboli, P., Mohammadi, S., & Khanmohammadi, H. (2021). Analysis of the impact of the most important issues of NGOs in Iran. Journal Strategic studies of Public Policies, 11(40), 74-101.
Young, D. R. (2000). Alternative models of government-nonprofit sector relations: Theoretical and international perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1), 149-172.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Management Studies (Formerly known as Iranian Journal of Management Studies)
Volume 16, Issue 1
January 2023
Pages 259-276

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics