The international environmental NGOs: from the revolutionary alternative to the pragmatism of reform

The nation state is in crisis, as is evident from examining environmental and social issues. Nation states attempt to set rules without being able to solve environmental problems. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can help to represent the aims of civil society at an international level and so offer new forms of environmental regulation. NGOs link the local and global. They are affected by constraints which mean that they may have to make compromises. They are affected by and are part of capitalist society, and are similar to enterprises in the way that they are run.