Writing

This thesis asks what types of inequalities exist between international and local non-governmental organizations in Iraq, and what dynamics, factors, and structures create and maintain them. It also asks how international NGOs can build partnerships that reduce these inequalities and empower local NGOs. It answers these questions through an empirical case study of the Iraqi NGO sector, conducted with Elicitive Conflict Mapping and supported by systems theory, (de-)coloniality, and critical development studies. The data come from semi-structured interviews with sixteen NGO workers in Iraq, seven of them women, and from my seven years in the sector. The findings follow four themes from the peaces families: harmony (partnership and communication), justice (capacities and funding), security (policies and sustainability), and truth (harm and recognition). They show that miscommunication, one-sided transparency, prescriptive capacity building, withheld indirect costs, and discrimination reinforce one another. Therefore, local organizations remain dependent implementers rather than partners. The conclusion reads these findings through a transrational lens and recommends genuine partnerships, mutual transparency, needs-based capacity building, fair and direct access to funding, and culturally and context-sensitive practices.