NGO Credibility across the World: A Conjoint Experiment

• In Event: Poster Session: New Avenues in Human Rights Research & South Asian Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: New Avenues in Human Rights Research

Abstract

A healthy, credible civil society is essential for a properly functioning democracy. Unfortunately, the recent trend of democratic backsliding is accompanied by increasing attacks on the credibility of civil society institutions, including democracy-focused NGOs. When politicians can persuade local communities that NGOs are not credible, trustworthy actors, activists working to challenge widespread beliefs about human rights abuses can be at risk. This cycle further isolates human rights defenders from communities—making them easier targets for repression—and solidifies democratic decline. Furthermore, distrust in NGOs—particularly by local communities—contributes to the general distrust in political systems that leads to polarization and radicalization of politics in both developed and developing world.

What exactly are the factors that influence NGO credibility in different countries? To enhance work on the Human Rights Support Mechanism funded by USAID and led by Freedom House, we conducted an online survey in 8 countries—Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, and Venezuela, countries that range from entrenched autocracies to established democracies. Using a conjoint experiment, we tested several attributes that may be driving public perception of NGO credibility, including funding source, mission statement, recent activity, and the organization’s age.

We found a big variation between the countries with several patterns that hold across them. For example, funding source drives the majority of preferences around NGO credibility across countries. In most countries, foreign funding of NGOs decreases trustworthiness, while in some countries, such as Venezuela, NGOs funded by the country's government are trusted less. NGO missions related to women’s rights reduced trustworthiness especially among men, although in general, mission statements did not contribute much to the perception of trustworthiness.

Authors

• Rebecca Wai, University of Michigan

• Deanna Kolberg, University of Michigan

• Natalia Forrat, University of Michigan

• Leah Squires