從國際政治經濟的觀點來看，自第二次世界大戰以來，國際社會已然歷經了許多重大的轉變。從冷戰體系下東西集團的對立，到1990年蘇聯等共黨國家的解體，使國際政產生了重大的變化。以國家為主行為角色的國際關係，自1980年代以後，逐漸面臨來自民間社會的競爭。傳統政府所推動的政治、軍事和外交，已然無法滿足與因應國際社會的轉變。國際議題的多元化，以及軍事和政治不再是與國之間互動的唯一重點，造成了民間團體的行為角色興起。沒有任何的單一議題，可以主導與壟斷整個際社會。由於議題的多元化與多樣化，故亦逐漸形成與國之間的相互依賴，以及國際社會的邁向全球化與全球治理。國際非政府組織的興起，可說是在此一國際政經重大變遷下的產物。非政府組織所關切的人類發展議題，同時亦推動了國際社會民主、人權與公民社會的建構。雖然在國際社會的層面，以及全球化的架構下，可以觀察到非政府組的發展趨勢，但從國家層面的觀點來看，在各國非政府組織的發展之間，以及在民間組織與政府的互動關係上，卻又呈現了相當的差異性。本文試圖從理論上的觀點，引導我們對這些問題的觀察與思考。

From the perspective of international political economy, international community has experienced a vast transformation. The end of the Cold War has helped to the emergence of non-state actors. Interdependence and globalization has thus gradually played a crucial role in international arena. In international dimension, the concepts of globalization and global civil society have paved the ways for the increasing interaction among people. This trend also highlights the limitations of the traditional function of the states. However, in national level, the development of non-governmental organizations and the relationship between the governments and the NGOs inevitably illustrate the disparity among states. For those states with their unique contexts, they all present their own ways of the development of civil society. In other words, although the tendency of globalization can be identified internationally, the discrepancy of civil societies in state level can not be ignored as well. This article tends to explore this issue from a theoretical aspect and to make a comparative study from an international and national level of analysis.