What would development look like if its practitioners and scholars were "against NGOs," challenging common sense about them? This seminar presents a critical perspective on NGOs, describing how they emerged as key agents of development over time.
About Professor Nidhi Srinivas
Professor Nidhi Srinivas is a critical development scholar whose research examines the intersection of civil society, management studies, and development practice. He uses interpretative history and Gramscian concepts to analyze how civil society organizations became enlisted in development as non-state technocratic actors.
🎯 Key Arguments
- Historical emergence: NGOs emerged as key agents of development over time, gradually becoming institutionalized in the development landscape.
- Gramscian analysis: Civil society organizations were enlisted as non-state technocratic actors in development frameworks.
- Management & development studies: These fields became commonsensical explanations for capitalist crises, offering solutions to balance the needs of capital and society.
- Civil society as vector: These solutions situated civil society as agents of development and vectors of management, embedding technocratic approaches in social change work.
"In a tight exchange between Nidhi Srinivas, Ugo Mattei, and the students of the International University College of Turin, the discussion raises provocative questions on what forms of knowledge-politics can respond productively to the crises of our contemporary moment."
The seminar challenges participants to reconsider assumptions about NGOs as inherently benevolent or progressive forces. It invites critical examination of how civil society has been structured by—and structures—capitalist development logics, and what alternatives might exist beyond the NGO-ization of social change.
Key questions explored include:
- How did NGOs become "common sense" in development practice?
- What role does management theory play in shaping civil society organizations?
- How can we imagine development beyond technocratic solutions?
- What knowledge-politics are needed for contemporary crises?
About the Seminar: This seminar is part of the IUC's critical development studies series, bringing together scholars who challenge mainstream development narratives and explore alternative frameworks for social transformation.