Human trafficking is a violation of human rights that takes many forms. Working with other organizations within and across sectors to counter these is increasingly perceived as necessary, but collaboration can be risky for the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved. Extant research on NGO collaboration has left the practices of collaboration understudied--and most overlook the Global South. This paper helps redress the dearth of research on counter-human trafficking coalitions in the Global South through a cross-regional comparative analysis of three nationally-scoped counter-trafficking coalitions (CTCs) operating in sub-Sahara Africa, Asia-Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia. All three CTCs began in the civil society sector and are comprised primarily of NGOs. The primary research questions addressed in this paper are: With which hopes and fears, despite which challenges, and through what structures and practices do NGO-led counter-trafficking coalitions in Global South countries engage with governmental and private sector entities? Findings indicate similarities in the vulnerabilities of NGO-led CTCs in Global South countries, and the challenges they face in cross-sector interactions, but variations in the strategies they employ in those interactions. Each CTC engages the public and private sectors in their country in multiple ways: through membership in the CTC, partnerships with the CTC, and/or a range of engagement practices. Finally, NGO-led CTCs in the Global South engage in the kinds of cross-sector and local-global dynamics that are a key focus in critical cosmopolitan theorizing. © 2019 by the author(s).

NGOs Collaboration Cross-sector interaction coalitions Human trafficking

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