<DIV>The growth of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at local and international levels has attracted considerable interest from policy-makers, development practitioners, academics and activists around the world. But how has this phenomenon impacted on struggles for social and environmental justice? How has it challenged - or reinforced - the forces of capitalism and colonialism? NGOization - the professionalization and institutionalization of social action - has long been a hotly contested issue in grassroots social movements and communities of resistance. NGO-ization pulls together for the first time unique perspectives of social struggles and critically-engaged scholars from wide range of geographical and political contexts, to offer an evidence-based insight into the tensions and challenges of the NGO model while considering the feasibility of alternatives. </p></div>