Lecture: The Authority Trap

Sarah Stroup, Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College, will talk about her book, “The Authority Trap”

There are tens of thousands of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) active in global politics, but they are not created equal. Most of them toil in obscurity, but a few have emerged as “leading INGOs” that command deference from states, corporations, the public, and their peers. Yet more authority does not necessarily mean more influence for INGOs. Sarah Stroup and her co-author Wendy Wong argue that, in order to retain their authority, INGOs such as Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amnesty refrain from expressing radical opinions that might damage their long-term reputation.