NGO Accountability in a Conflict Zone
This project investigates NGO accountability perceptions, practices and structures that have emerged and developed in the highly fluctuating context of the Syrian conflict.
Understanding NGO accountability requires diving into the multifaceted perceptions of accountability and the cultural and moral meanings that NGO actors attach to it.
Dr Ahmad Abras
Lecturer in Accounting
Project description
This project aims to investigate the emergence and development of accountability perceptions and practices within local NGOs and grassroots organizations established in the aftermath of the Syrian conflict in 2011. By delving into the journey of hundreds of these organizations throughout the conflict's lifespan, the project explores the interplay between NGO accountability, local cultural and moral values, community dynamics, and international frameworks set by donors and INGOs. Additionally, it examines the transformative potential of accountability, illustrating how it can act as an enabling factor, leading to innovative approaches to humanitarian work in some instances, while in others, it constrains local NGOs by assimilating them into predefined templates and mentalities prevalent in the international humanitarian sector.
In a later stage, the project will extend its scope to explore further issues surrounding the humanitarian aid sector and NGO accountability in the complex context of the Syrian conflict at both the organizational and individual levels of NGO actors.
This project involves collaboration with affiliated academics Dr Muhammad Al Mahameed (Copenhagen Business School) and Dr David Yates (University of Sheffield).
Key research outputs
- Abras, A., Al-Mahameed, M. & Yates, D. The online life of an NGO: ‘Nano-accountability’ and redefining humanitarian aid through the boundaries of social media. Working Paper.
- Al-Mahameed, M. & Abras, A. Accountability discharge during conflicts: the case of Syrian Civil Society Organisations. Working Paper.
Research activity
- Abras, A. & Al-Mahameed, M. (2023). Accountability discharge during organisational development: the case of Syrian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Critical Perspective of Accounting Conference, Bogota-Colombia, 23-26 July 2023
