GORDON CUMMING, having begun his career in the Foreign Office, is now a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, UK, and a specialist in European NGOs and development policy. He has published extensively in journals such as African Affairs and Third World Quarterly. His monograph, Aid to Africa (2001), was well received internationally.

' [a] methodical and comprehensive study combines an impressive emperical account...(both in terms of quantity and quality of detail) with an interesting theoretical discussion...The book is carefully researched...In any case, this book should be an essential reading for strudents of French and development studies, especially because of its strong comparative dimension and value.' Modern & Contemporary France

• Introduction: French NGOs in a Global Context Zooming in on French NGOs The Quest for a Theoretical Framework French NGDOs and their Resource Landscape French NGDOs and the State: Paving the Way for a New Partnership? Towards Professionalization? Working for or Working on the State? A Resource Dependence Perspective Working Together in the Field: A Case Study from Cameroon Conclusion: Holding Out for a Better World