Dynamic Tensions, Civil Society and Development of the Disability Rights Movement

Book excerpt: This book contributes to the civil society and development debate by adapting a convergent analytic framework that synthesizes neo-institutional and social identity perspectives, to interrogate the competing interests among civil society organizations (CSOs). Within the scope of this objective, It analyses three sub-themes; the internal governance structures of Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs); the dynamics of competition for resources; and the relationship between civil and political society; and how these factors impact on the internal cohesion of the disability movement. The central argument is that the necessity to respond to the institutional pressures from the organizational field interacts with identity based interest articulation of actors, to shape the degree of internal cohesion among CSOs.