Case Studies of Policy Influence by Nonprofit Organisations
Author: Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia
Publisher: NEYA Global Publishing
Article | NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies
Year: 2025
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5669-1676
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-pblplcpwinfdsmk-05
This material forms part of the NEYA Global knowledge architecture. Institutional, organizational, professional, training, consulting, curriculum, program design, or implementation use requires an active license from NEYA Global
Explore Architecture →
Module Overview →
Request Institutional Access →
About the Article
This article presents a comparative analysis of case studies illustrating how nonprofit organisations influence policy across international, national, and local levels. It examines advocacy strategies in human rights, environmental governance, and grassroots mobilisation, demonstrating how NGOs integrate evidence, framing, and coalition-building to shape outcomes. International NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch use monitoring and naming-and-shaming to mobilise diplomatic pressure, while environmental groups like Greenpeace and WWF combine insider negotiation with public protest to influence climate accords. Grassroots campaigns in Latin America and women’s rights movements in South Asia highlight how local legitimacy and framing strategies drive institutional reform, even within restrictive political environments. The analysis reveals recurring tensions between global and local actors, elite and grassroots advocacy, and normative aspirations versus structural constraints. By mapping mechanisms and outcomes, the article bridges theoretical insights and practical lessons, showing how nonprofit advocacy simultaneously enables and challenges democratic governance.
Key Topics
- Case studies of nonprofit policy influence
- Human rights advocacy
- Environmental governance and climate policy
- Grassroots mobilisation in the Global South
- Coalition-building and transnational networks
- Power and legitimacy in NGO practice
Suggested Citation
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Case Studies of Policy Influence by Nonprofit Organisations. NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies. NEYA Global Publishing. https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-pblplcpwinfdsmk-05
References
Alvarez, S. E. (1999). Advocating feminism: The Latin American feminist NGO "boom." International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1(2), 181–209.
https://doi.org/10.1080/146167499359880
Baiocchi, G. (2005). Militants and Citizens: The Politics of Participatory Democracy in Porto Alegre. Stanford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503625129
Betsill, M. M., & Corell, E. (2008). NGO Diplomacy: The Influence of Nongovernmental Organizations in International Environmental Negotiations. MIT Press.
https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/7512.001.0001
Hadden, J. (2015). Networks in Contention: The Divisive Politics of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316105542
Hopgood, S. (2006). Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty International. Cornell University Press.
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Public Policy: Power and Influence in Decision-Making. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/public-policy-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Mechanisms of policy influence by nonprofit organisations. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-pblplcpwinfdsmk-04
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Advocacy and lobbying by nonprofit organisations: Mechanisms, strategies, and political contexts. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-pblplcpwinfdsmk-03
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Nonprofit organisations and policy influence in contemporary governance. Neya Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies.
https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-pblplcpwinfdsmk-09
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). How Organizations Bring Change: Mechanisms of Social Impact. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/change-mechanisms-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Organizational Legitimacy: Earning & Sustaining Public Trust. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/legitimacy-2025
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). CSR: Legal and Ethical Issues. NEYA Global Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.64357/csr-legal-ethical-issues-2025
Heywood, M. (2009). South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign: Combining law and social mobilization to realize the right to health. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 1(1), 14–36.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/hun006
Nazneen, S., & Sultan, M. (2014). Voicing Demands: Feminist Activism in Transitional Contexts. Zed Books.
https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350223868
Risse, T., Ropp, S. C., & Sikkink, K. (1999). The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511598777
Tarrow, S. (2011). Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511973529
