New ICLE Brief Examines the Rise of ‘Democratically Deficient Organizations’
PORTLAND, Ore. (March 12, 2026) — Modern liberal democracies face a structural threat from “Democratically Deficient Organizations,” or DoDOs—entities that wield significant policy influence while remaining insulated from voter control—according to a new issue brief from the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE).
The report, “Defending Democracy from the DoDOs: How Power Escapes Democratic Control,” argues that an ecosystem of intergovernmental bodies, NGOs and philanthropic foundations increasingly shapes policy while bypassing traditional democratic checks on power. Across domains as varied as development aid, environmental regulation, public-health governance, and international taxation, the DoDO ecosystem has produced policies that persist long after evidence of failure accumulates.
“Intergovernmental bodies, NGOs, foundations, and commercial actors can form mutually reinforcing networks that collectively wield authority no single institution could claim on its own,” Morris writes. “The pathology lies not in any individual organization, but in the ecosystem they create together.”
He adds that the self-reinforcing nature of this system manifests in a familiar cycle in which NGOs highlight risks, media amplify them, politicians respond with new mandates, international treaties lock in those responses, and expanding bureaucracies reinforce the original claims.
To restore democratic control, Morris recommends restoring subsidiarity by returning authority to the level closest to those affected, reasserting democratic oversight of international commitments through sunset clauses and legislative reauthorization, ending government funding of NGOs that lobby for expanded programs, and increasing transparency and contestability in treaty negotiations and intergovernmental decision-making.
The full report is available for download here. To interview Julian, contact ICLE’s director of communications, Jim Fellinger, at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.