International NGOs in Global Aid Chains: Linking Donors, Local Partners, and the State¹

Much of the research on international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) emphasizes their role as transnational actors on a global scale, but INGOs also have a national dimension—they originate in home countries, and they carry out activities in host or recipient countries. How can we understand the way they are shaped by and operate across these multiple contexts? This paper examines differences between U.S.-based, Japanese, and South Korean INGOs in Cambodia. Specifically, we analyze interorganizational relationships between INGOs and their donors and local partners, which we conceptualize as “aid chains.” This comparative analysis of aid chains provides insight into the dynamics that produce patterned variation in the development field.