Date of Award
5-2010
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Business Administration
Advisor/Committee Chair
Victor Asal
Abstract
Non-governmental organizations have become a key concern for international relations theorists and comparative thinkers. While most NGO’s promote their social, political, and economic interests through peaceful means, some use violence; this study seeks to understand why. I assert that the use of violence is a tactical decision made at the dyadic level in consideration of resources that are vital to the organization’s survival. This investigation uses principles from the theory of resource dependency to analyze cases where one NGO uses violence in the same ‘system’ as another that does not. I conclude that organizations dependent on social actors for vital resources are less likely to use violent tactics to achieve their goals. These results and future studies built upon them could be used to compile a behavioral model for both violent and nonviolent organizational behavior.
Recommended Citation
Kratoville, Jayson, "To Fight or Not to Fight: Examining Violence as an Organizational Choice" (2010). Political Science. 2.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_pos/2