Advocacy in an Authoritarian State How Grassroots Environmental NGOs Influence Local Governments in China

While many NGOs in China are seen mainly as service providers working to fulfill state goals, in this article we show that Chinese grassroots environmental NGOs (ENGOs) regularly employ a variety of advocacy strategies to influence local-level government policy. Based on in-depth interviews with ENG...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe China journal (Canberra, A.C.T.) Vol. 79; no. 79; pp. 62 - 83
Main Authors Dai, Jingyun, Spires, Anthony J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago University of Chicago Press 01.01.2018
Subjects
Advocacy
Authoritarianism
Chinese languages
Citizen participation
Civil society
Governance
Grass roots movement
Interpersonal communication
Local government
Mass media
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Objectives
Politics
Public policy
Social support
Society
Telecommunications policy
China
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Summary:While many NGOs in China are seen mainly as service providers working to fulfill state goals, in this article we show that Chinese grassroots environmental NGOs (ENGOs) regularly employ a variety of advocacy strategies to influence local-level government policy. Based on in-depth interviews with ENGOs active in Guangdong, this study examines these groups’ advocacy efforts and considers their implications for the further development of Chinese civil society. Our analysis finds that these groups employ three main advocacy strategies: (1) cultivating a stable, interactive relationship with the government using existing institutional means to communicate their concerns; (2) carefully selecting the “frames” used to present their preferred policy goals and outcomes; and (3) obtaining media exposure to mobilize societal support for their goals in order to put pressure on the local state. ENGOs use these strategies concurrently, though their concrete choices vary case by case. Taken as a whole, such practices suggest the ability of civil society to carve out more political space than the state is commonly believed to grant. While this increased policy engagement by ENGOs could lead to stronger state governance and thus help sustain China’s authoritarian system, we argue that it may also open up new pathways for robust civic engagement by ordinary citizens and civil society organizations.
ISSN:1324-9347
1835-8535
DOI:10.1086/693440