Constructing an NGO sector in transitional contexts - The reach of NGO-donor 'partnerships' in post-Soviet Georgia

This article considers NGO-donor relationships in the former Soviet Republi c of Georgia. Both NGOs and aid donors have emerged only recently as meanin gful actors in post-Soviet space. More particularly, they have emerged toge ther: NGOs are essentially the product of donor intervention and are the ve hicles of donors' aspirations for the creation of a sustainable and autonom ous 'civil society' in Georgia. The article explores the NGO-donor 'partner ship' this gives rise to, seeing this as a relationship that includes funct ional linkages and a deeper set of socio-cultural exchanges. The nature of the partnership, in which donors are much the stronger partners, is shown t o pervade NGOs' wider relationships and shape their development to such an extent that it acts in some ways to undermine the achievement of the very o utcomes donors most desire. While the NGO sector is rapidly expanding, it i s not developing the social, political or economic roots to become sustaina ble and autonomous in the near future. This indicates the need for a profou nd re-think of the NGO-donor partnership in Georgia, and in particular the need to move towards a deeper and less generalised understanding of the con text.