THE FRONTIERS OF INFLUENCE - NGO LOBBYING AT THE 1974 WORLD FOOD CONFERENCE, THE 1992 EARTH SUMMIT AND BEYOND

While many are writing about the rise of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to the international stage, this article suggests we need to t ake a more longitudinal, detailed, and comparative look at NGO lobbyin g before making assessments about influence. An analysis of Canadian a nd British development NGOs' lobbying of their own governments prior t o two world conferences, 18 years apart, suggests that NGOs have the m ost influence in highly salient, low policy issues accompanied by earl y and continuous access to decision-makers. Trends since 1992 are disc ussed, pointing to the importance of studying the ''nongovernmental mo vement'' as part of a much more interesting debate on international go vernance.