Date of Award

12-31-2025

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Global Governance and Human Security

First Advisor

Stacy D. VanDeveer

Second Advisor

Jeffrey D. Pugh

Third Advisor

Karen Ross and Kendra Dupuy

Abstract

Since the early twenty-first century, civil society, particularly non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has faced growing pressures worldwide. Once viewed as partners in development and promoters of democracy and human rights, NGOs are increasingly framed as threats to state sovereignty, political stability, and societal cohesion, with these perceptions translating into institutional practices that constrain their activities. Drawing on securitization and framing theories and employing critical discourse analysis, document analysis, and interviews, this study examines how NGOs in Pakistan have been constructed as a security issue and explores the implications for the broader NGO sector. Print media frames are analyzed to reveal how NGOs are portrayed as threats, with the media functioning not merely as transmitters of elite discourses but also as actors, generating their own narratives, thereby shaping public perceptions. Key policy and regulatory documents, along with semi-structured interviews with NGO representatives, are used to examine how securitization takes place in practice and how it affects the NGO sector. The study identifies two dominant securitizing frames: NGOs as threats to political security, depicted as foreign agents and enemies of the state, and NGOs as threats to societal security, portrayed as eroding ideological, religious, and cultural norms. Securitization has significantly affected NGOs, particularly advocacy and rights-based organizations, causing reputational damage, reduced public and governmental acceptance, and structural and operational constraints. The study advances theory by integrating securitization and framing approaches and expanding their analytical and methodological scope. Policy-wise, it shows how state practices inadvertently restrict NGOs’ ability to sustain social and developmental services.

Comments

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