Partnerships for change

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations have become important actors in national and international politics. In many cases, where change is being sought to particular elements of policy or law, groups of NGOs have come together in coalitions in an effort to achieve that change. This has happened at the national, regional and international levels. Civil society coalitions mobilise resources – people, their time and their money – towards a collective goal. They work with varying degrees of coordination and joint activism and use a variety of terms to describe themselves, including coalitions, networks, campaigns, alliances, initiatives and so on. This book is concerned with civil society coalitions seeking to influence international policy or law, although many of the lessons it draws out are relevant to other types of coalition or network.