NGOization: The Neoliberal Mode of Governance of Civil Society

NGOization represents a specific form of neoliberal governmentality stemming from the formalized encounter between state, the market, and civil society. In the case of feminist activism, NGOization is built upon recent decades’ transformations of the feminist movement, namely its institutionalization and professionalization, and is shaped by processes of neoliberal bureaucratization and governmental precarization as technologies of domination. The NGOization of the feminist movement as a specific mode of governance is co-produced through the interaction between feminist movement actors, professional organizations and informal groups, the state, public or private donors, and institutions of international governance. Debates about NGOization softened during recent years due to (1) a new wave of mass mobilizations around the world that ousted the demobilization thesis and (2) the consolidation of anti-gender campaigns that shrank the space of action for feminist movement actors, now in competition on matters of women’s sexual and reproductive rights and gender equality with conservative actors. As progress can no longer be considered permanent and inexorable, what is the role played by legitimate experts and institutionalized partnerships with state institutions in safeguarding the achieved rights? And as alliances are reconfigured in counter-intuitive ways, what is the relationship between the feminist movement and the LGBTQIA+ movement?