| Globalization has changed the way we govern. It has brought to light the increased complexity, scale and interconnectedness of policy problems. While policy problems have outgrown traditional state boundaries, the role of the regulatory state has atrophied. Nowhere is this more true than in conservation policy. With the state's reduced ability and interest to address conservation issues, transnational environmental non-governmental organizations (TENGOs) -- with their growing financial resources and expertise - have gladly stepped in to fill this governance gap. These Private Conservation Networks (PCN) are defined partially by this new role for private actors: where, regardless of their legitimacy in doing so, non-governmental organizations are moved from their traditional roles as policy advisors to new roles o policy creators and implementers; non-governmental organizations govern. To whom are they accountable and how? Drawing on qualitative data collected from three PCN in Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Palau and the Philippines, this research answers the questions: Why do actors respond differently to accountability demands and what causes them to morph into different states of accountability?;To answer these questions, this dissertation offers a typology of accountability relationships that ties an organization's ability to achieve long-term results towards its mission with its ability to balance accountability demands. This thesis is based on the idea that an organization's ability to balance accountability is less a function of external pressures - which may change in their type and source, but are constant influences on NGOs - and more a function of the TENGOs internal ability to manage those pressures. This research applies theories of organizational structure, ethos and capacity to the discussion of transnational policy networks -- especially the impact of TENGO's internal organization on the accountability relationships within Private Conservation Networks. In examining these theories in the long --term histories of three PCNs, this dissertation concludes that while organizational structure may seem important for accountability, its impact on an organization's accountability relationship is really ancillary to its organizational ethos and its capacity to bridge the concerns of local stakeholders with international actors involved in conservation. |
