摘要：The increasing prominence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has been seen bymany as a potentially transformative force in promoting more equal, participative, and sustainable development. At the same time, NGOs have also been seen as co-opted by neo-liberalism, functioning in ways that maintain systemic inequality. Edwards and Hulme's (1996) thoughtful article reviews many of these debates, and this short essay, like others in this issue, reacts to this article as well as draws upon my own experience and analysis of the threats and promise of the NGO phenomenon
