How does dependence on foreign funding affect the relationship between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the communities they intend to represent? Can NGOs serve as downwardly accountable advocates for social change? This study draws on interviews with staff, volunteers, and recipients in a wide range of local NGOs in Nicaragua as well as an extensive analysis of NGO publications, Nicaraguan news media, and the academic literature on NGO accountability, organization, and relationships with the grassroots. We find that dependence on funding strains the ties of NGOs to constituencies and pushes them from long-term advocacy and organizing towards short-term service and ephemeral mobilization. The result is a disproportionately influential NGO sector which leaves little room for traditional grassroots membership organizations. These results necessitate a rethinking of current funding models and the roles of foreign-funded NGOs in building civil society and catalyzing social change to benefit the marginalized.

Climate change and the lack of collective cooperation has been a central concern in international relations. International governments such as the United Nations have extensively debated the topic of climate change. However, 192 nations have never been invited to cooperate in solving the issue of global warming. The most recent Conference of Parties suggests that the issues of climate change due to CO2 emissions are creating global disasters such as droughts. Scientifically, economically, and politically, climate change has taken a central issue in national governments. Specifically, out of the three highest CO2 emitting nations, India accounts for a nation that is most prone to climate change. Droughts and floods have intensified over the last decade, but the Indian government continues to heavily industrialize, which drastically affects the atmosphere provoking disasters. Therefore, it is paramount that all countries unite and keep the temperature change below 2 degrees Celsius. It is important for all nations to understand the effects of climate change regarding CO2 emissions. Proving through a scientific explanation that climate change is a scientifically feasible fact, I will argue how the international government such as United Nations has failed; the flaws and effects of the failed provisions both internationally and in India; propose an innovative solution toward new provisions that will be more effective to the modern crisis at a regional, national, and international basis.