Roundtable Discussion: Excessive Influence of NGOs Leads to “Disruption of Democracy”

At a discussion at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs on Wednesday, it was stated that NGOs have a very strong influence on local politics worldwide, including in many European countries, while their transparency is often problematic. 

“In many countries we see that NGOs are seeking to privatize democracy. It is important for NGOs to be present in important areas such as education and the fight against poverty, but it is worrying that in recent decades they have become part of the political decision-making process, while their representatives are not elected, and we do not know exactly who they represent,” said Petra Halkó, senior analyst at the 21st Century Institute, at a roundtable discussion, “National Sovereignty vs. Foreign Influence – Examples from Around the Globe.“

In Halkó’s opinion,

the old notion of “soft power” is given a new light by the “excessive influence” of NGOs.

Prestigious U.S. universities also train NGO experts, but in many cases it turns out that their activities in various organizations abroad do not serve U.S. geopolitical interests, she noted.

Péter Pál Kránitz, senior researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, said that the activities of the civil society in Georgia, which has been in the news recently, are the least transparent. “90% of these organizations are channeled abroad, their activities benefit the local liberal opposition. The situation can also be seen as a deficit in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program,” he said.

According to Rodrigo Ballester, head of the Center for European Studies at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC),

the “overpowering” of NGOs has led to too much attention being paid to the noisy minority in the world today, causing a disruption of democracy.

While the U.S. administration is paying serious attention to supporting the activities of NGOs abroad, the conflict in the Middle East is also revealing that government interests are often out of step with the activities of NGOs, he said.

All three experts agreed with the approach that there is a need for greater transparency of the activities of NGOs abroad around the world, because their increasing political activity can be a serious obstacle to democracy in nation states.

Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay