Crowded Out
The Competitive Landscape of Contemporary International NGOs

Explains three important but unexamined trends in INGO politics: decreased foundings, increased specialization, and increased geographic dispersion.

Sarah Sunn Bush (Author), Jennifer Hadden (Author)

9781009557368, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 May 2025

248 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.52 kg

'Crowded Out offers a path-breaking account of INGOs in contemporary world politics. Combining compelling theoretical innovation and impressive empirical research, Bush and Hadden demonstrate how population dynamics shape key trends in the founding, specialization, and location of INGOs - with powerful implications for their capacity to meet urgent needs.' Jonas Tallberg, Professor of Political Science, Stockholm University

Crowded Out delves into the complex landscape of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). Bush and Hadden trace INGOs' rise to prominence at the end of the twentieth century and three significant but overlooked recent trends: a decrease in new INGO foundings, despite persistent global need; a shift toward specialization, despite the complexity of global problems; and a dispersal of INGO activities globally, despite potential gains from concentrating on areas of acute need. Assembling a wealth of new data on INGO foundings, missions, and locations, Bush and Hadden show how INGOs are being crowded out of dense organizational environments. They conduct case studies of INGOs across issue areas, relying on dozens of interviews and a large-scale survey to bring practitioners' voices to the study of INGOs. To effectively address today's global challenges, organizations must innovate in a crowded world. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

1. Introduction
2. A theory of INGO populations
3. After the INGO explosion
4. The growing specialization of INGOs
5. The spreading out of INGOs
6. The future of INGOs
7. Appendix
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]