How do civil society organizations communicate in an authoritarian setting? A narrative analysis of the Russian waste management debate

Abstract

Civil society organizations (CSOs) aim to influence public policy. One way of influencing policy is through communication. In authoritarian contexts, CSOs face restrictions that make criticism of governmental actors less likely. However, to achieve change, CSOs need to highlight public problems that are often created by the inaction of governmental actors. This research examines the communicative strategies of CSOs involved in waste management in Russia. By drawing on the Narrative Policy Framework, it examines narratives used by CSOs on social media. Interviews with these CSO provide explanations of why CSOs select specific narrative strategies. We argue that the narrative strategies of CSOs are determined by their objectives of communication related to the activities they are involved in but are also influenced by their working relationship with the government. Results show that CSOs that are involved in educational activities and service provision mostly pursue an angel‐shift‐strategy, highlighting policy solutions. Only larger CSOs communicate critically and continue to attempt working with governmental actors to influence policy through awareness‐raising and policy advocacy.

You are a hero! The influence of audience‐as‐hero narratives on policy support

“…Therefore, the research provides further evidence for the NPF's assumption that the role of narratives is universal. It also adds to previous Russian NPF studies at the meso level that argued that the NPF is an appropriate framework for studying policy processes in nondemocratic settings (Chalaya & Uldanov, 2024;Schlaufer et al, 2021Schlaufer et al, , 2023Schlaufer, Pilkina, et al, 2022;Uldanov et al, 2021), as well as to NPF studies on forest fire policies in the American context (Crow et al, 2017).…”

Narratives, evidence and public policy in crisis situations

“…The second contribution of the issue also uses the NPF for analysis of policy processes outside established democracies. Schlaufer, Pilkina, et al (2022) explore how civil society organizations (CSO) use social media to influence waste management in Russia. They identify several reactions to the authoritarian political environment by analyzing social media posts and conducting 12 semi‐structured interviews with representatives of 12 different CSOs.…”