NGOs are currently at a crossroads. They have grown in scale and remit and have been given a role by states and official aid organizations that fundametally challenge many of the assumptions that accompanied their creation. There is a general, albeit vague, feeling that NGOs are no longer what they used to be. Yet aside from the obvious differences in scale of activity and resources, there is little understanding of the processes that have led NGOs to be the types of organization that they are today. This book challenges the static picture of the NGO industry, to inform the debate on the "relief-to-development continuum", and to provide an historical account of key issues facing NGOs today. Each chapter, a case study based on extensive fieldwork, seeks to identify and analyze the roots of problems, past and present, which have led to the current dilemma facing charitable organizations.