Politics and Power in the NGO Sector: Structural Shifts and Governance Challenges

Abstract

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are broadly recognised as independent civil society actors that contest social injustice and advance community empowerment. Yet their autonomy and governance are increasingly compromised by political interference operating through regulatory mechanisms, funding structures, and informal patronage networks. This study adopts a qualitative research design, drawing on semi-structured interviews with key informants from 120 small and medium-sized Delhi-based NGOs, purposively selected based on organisational size, funding structure, and exposure to political and regulatory constraints. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) reflexive thematic analysis. Primary findings were triangulated with secondary literature, government notifications, and publicly documented cases, including materials related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and its 2020 amendment. Political interference operates not only through direct control but via indirect mechanisms that normalise compliance, produce self-censorship, and reconfigure accountability as a disciplinary instrument. Loss of community trust (80%) and loss of organisational autonomy (75%) were the most frequently reported consequences. Findings further reveal governance distortions, including the weakening of internal democratic practices and downward accountability, and the structural production of mission drift and advocacy depoliticisation. The study concludes that preserving NGO autonomy requires stronger internal governance, funding diversification, and transparent self-regulatory mechanisms. State regulatory frameworks should safeguard NGOs’ democratic and moral role rather than constrain their operational capacity. The paper contributes to the growing debate on civil society co-optation, the autonomy–accountability paradox, and the conditions required for NGOs to remain genuine democratic actors.