Why are nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) so successful in today's world? How do they empower themselves? This insightful book provides important new perspectives on the strategic thinking of NGOs, the way they identify themselves, and how they behave. Raymond L. Bryant develops a novel theoretical perspective around the concept of moral capital and assesses that concept through in-depth case studies of NGOs in the Philippines. The book's focus is on perceptions of NGOs as moral and altruistic and how such perceptions can translate into social power. Bryant examines the ambiguous qualities of NGO strategising, the ways in which the quest for moral capital is bedevilled by the need to compromise with political and economic elites, and the possibilities for NGOs to achieve political goals as moral leaders. "An important work both in terms of how we understand the operation of NGOs in the Philippines and, more significantly, in terms of the contribution it makes to wider debates about NGOs." Jonathan Rigg, University of Durham