By Fengshi Wu

What are GONGOs

GONGOs are “government organized non-governmental organizations.”

There are competing arguments on the nature of GONGOs. “The state-led model is rooted in the idea that there is a Chinese political culture that reifies the state. Literally hundreds of thousands of organizations and groups were created by the state at different administrative levels in recent years to serve as support mechanisms. These organizations have been called GONGOs by researchers. Some scholars have dubbed GONGOs a form of state or socialist corporatism in line with the Leninist-Maoist regime tradition of China’s past where mass social organizations were created as ‘transmission belts’ between the state and society.8 …By creating GONGOs, the state is able to channel the diverse demands of the society and arrange them in ways to support its own legitimacy. Mutual perceptions of strengths and weaknesses play a key role in the relationships between GONGOs and the state. The state is aware of its own inability to deal with social welfare problems that have accompanied the dramatic macro-economic reforms, and expects GONGOs to contribute to solving those problems with their expertise and flexibility.”

“One important challenge to the state-led model comes from scholarship that focuses attention on the new business elite and a particular type of GONGO—the industry association. This work suggests that because clientelism still remains a salient feature in China’s state-society structure, GONGOs should be thought of organizations established for strategic purposes.9 There is no solid group consciousness among business elites, the unemployed, blue-collar workers, or professionals. Nor are there institutionalized horizontal ties that can be used to articulate their collective interests. GONGOs act as service delivery agencies for the state or mechanisms to ease short-term societal tensions. According to this way of thinking, GONGOs should not be considered as formalized representation channels for society.”

“My own research on environmentalGONGOs in China raises additionalchallenges to the state-led model…These GONGOs were not created simply to serve as arms of the government,but rather to absorb governmental officials who were laid off during this reform. ”

The Trend

“The state is pushing GONGOs to be self-sufficient and partially separate from the government…It is also the case that mutual perceptions between the state and GONGOs are changing. The state initially appears to have established GONGOs primarily in order to receive international assistance from inter-governmental organizations or foreign NGOs, to strengthen technology and information support, or solve new problems. Yet, as later parts of this paper will show GONGOs are developing their own organizational ideologies and capacities, and in the process both governmental and GONGO perceptions of their respective roles are changing.”

“GONGOs are gaining greater organizational autonomy. In addition to the importance of their legal status and financial and personnel resources, elements that are critical to GONGO autonomy are their capacity building abilities and access to international sources. It is because of the growing self-capacity and support from the outside, that GONGOs can realize their own organizational missions, negotiate with the state for more selfgovernance, and facilitate trans-societal cooperation…Key leaders of environmental GONGOs are usually former or current techno-politicians…However, more and more GONGO staff members are recruited under contract.

“The research presented here suggests that through legal, financial and organizational separation from the central government, many GONGOs have gained a certain degree of autonomy from the state. Their self-capacity building efforts and increased access to international sources are furthering this process. Findings from this research project also suggest that the more autonomous the GONGO sector becomes, the more probable it is that it will facilitate the growth of a green civil society in China. Newly established GONGOs, such as BECon, are playing active match-maker roles between domestic NGOs and international donors. For students who are interested in state-society structures in China, this particular group of GONGOs will be important to watch.”

Cases from Environmental GONGOs

“Seven GONGO cases are examined in order to shed light on the growing autonomy and increasing capacity of the GONGO sector.”

The Role of International Organizations

“International access appears to be having a two-fold effect on GONGO autonomy. On the one side, GONGOs are strengthening their self-capacity with information, expertise, and knowledge sharing obtained from networking with international organizations. On the other, international access is contributing directly to GONGO autonomy, especially when external actors are involved from the initial stage of an organization’s existence.”

(Quoted from Fengshi Wu: “Environmental GONGO Autonomy: Unintended Consequences of State Strategies in China”, The Good Society, Volume 12, no. 1, 2003. With thanks to the kind contribution to the Blog by the author herself.)