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

Abstract

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.

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