Conclusion: Contributions, Advantages/Disadvantages, Legitimacy, and State-Society Relations

This concluding chapter summarizes what each chapter directly and indirectly contributes on the two key issues this book addresses—contributions by JOCVs and the advantages and disadvantages of the program—and draws scholarly and practical implications from this. Also, based on this summation, the present chapter considers the other issues related to SMIVS and JOCV discussed in the introduction: Are SMIVS programs, like JOCV, legitimate in the sense that NGOs have managed most IVS for downstream purposes by sending out volunteers with expertise? What are the impacts of SMIVS on state-society relations? Do they mean the state’s dominance of IVS? These issues can be summarized as contributions, advantages/disadvantages, legitimacy, and state-society relations. After examining them this chapter offers a prospect of JOCV as an SMIVS program. Is state management of JOCV sustainable? Will the JOCV program continue to be an international voluntary service or transform into another form of aid scheme? These questions are addressed in the last section.