The Roles of NGOs in the Kimberley Process

The agenda setting activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been studied frequently, but the roles they play in the formal, bureaucratic processes of decision-making and implementation of global agreements have remained understudied. This article shows that NGOs are involved in global politics as legitimizers, experts, and watchdogs. NGOs were extensively engaged in the creation and implementation of the Kimberley Process (KP), a global regulatory body, which was created to curb the trade in conflict diamonds. The article demonstrates how the moral deficit of the KP and the legitimacy of NGOs gave NGOs access to KP negotiations; how NGO expertise influenced the KP in its day-to-day operations; and how NGOs served a dual monitoring function from within the KP and as external watchdogs.