Between Independence and Absorption: The Soft Embeddedness of NGOs in Poverty Alleviation

Abstract

NGOs are faced with the dilemma of action logic in participating in poverty alleviation at the grass-roots level: if they do not embed into local areas, they cannot carry out activities; if they embed too deeply, they will be molded in reverse and cannot realize successful exits. So what action logic will NGOs take in the process of poverty alleviation? Through field observation of H organization which participated in the poverty alleviation project of a pig farm in J village, this paper puts forward the action logic of “soft embeddedness” (SE) on the basis of the theory of “embeddedness” and “soft governance.” SE mainly includes three aspects: the soft relationship embeddedness of culture and custom, the soft resources embeddedness of negotiation by many parties and the soft structure embeddedness of rural regulations and folk conventions. Compared with that of “hard embeddedness” (HE) which emphasizes institutionalism and inculcation, the action logic of SE has its own characteristics. It includes the flexibility of interaction, the strategy of participation and the limited responsibility boundary. The SE action logic helps maintain the autonomy of NGOs, promote the accumulation of village social capital and realize the sustainable development of poverty alleviation projects. At the same time, this paper theoretically complements and extends the interaction between the states and the society as well as the action logic of NGOs in China.