boeERH EES

depoliticisation of power generally as discussed in the first part of this paper, e.g. the privatisation of public bureaucracy

functions and relocation of these functions onto the world of corporate agendas.

But some of these developments may also be pointing to new forms of the political, forms which are not embedded in state
forms or privatized forms. The distributed power made possible by the Internet and the types of NGOs that can benefit from
this do represent, it seems to me a new world of the political. Securing distributed power, its reproduction, its diversifica-
tion, its growth and multiplication will mean we need to invent new forms. There are crucial examples of this inventing that
will be discussed in its conference, notably open-source operating systems and “insurgent technologies.” This line of
thinking does also raise a question about the need to find new ways of naming what it is that we are describing when we
speak today of the world of NGOs, with their enormous diversity, resources and relations to the formal political apparatus.
In this regard, the concept of Post-governmental Organisations is an intriguing one, which | hope we will be discussing at
this meeting. It is clear that simply saying NGOs has become inadequate because we are grouping many different political
projects, some related to existing power and others in opposition to it.

Saskia Sassen is Professor of Sociology at The University of Chicago. Her most recent book is Globalization and its
Discontents (New York: New Press 1998) which will be published in Dutch by Van Genep (May 1999, Amsterdam). Her
books are translated into ten languages. She directs the project “Cities and their Crossborder Networks” for the United
Nations University (Tokyo)

NGO-TRANSNATIONALS,
MCGREENPEACE AND
THE NETWORK GUERRILLA

ON SOME RECENT TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY

The involvement of NGOs into international negotiations is reaching a new stage. On the background of an increasing
hegemony crisis of the neo-liberal paradigm there are increasing attempts by international institutions and national
governments to increase acceptance of their policies. Even institutions like the WTO the Commission of the European
Union which were by now resistant towards participation of NGOs are now seeking a “dialogue with civil society.”
This constitutes new challenges for NGOs, as the “offensive of smile" is ambiguous. The question is whether such a
dialogue ends up in co-option and instrumentalisation of NGOs or whether it could contribute to the development and

strengthening of alternatives. Simplistic answers either in one, or in the other direction will not be possible. Probably
a case by case approach will be necessary. However, there is a need for an analysis of the different actors - includ-
ing the NGOs - in the context of the present historical conjuncture and an in-depth strategy discussion among NGOs,
The following reflections want to contribute to such a discussion.

THE DEMOCRATIC AMBIVALENCE OF NGOS

Many sociological studies have been dedicated to the phenomenon: the rise of Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to

be the new stars in the skies of international civil society. Against the background of the increasing erosion of
A democracy in the context of neoliberal globalisation, the majority of those studies focus on key question whether

NGOs are able to help forming the emerging system of multilateral regulation according to democratic structures - and

if they can, how?