The Authoritarian TENGO: Comparing Transnational Environmental NGOs Russia and China

• In Event: The Politics of the Environment and Climate Change across Eurasia

Abstract

This paper examines transnational environmental non-governmental organizations (TENGOs) in authoritarian Russia and China, including World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Greenpeace. These two organizations and their affiliates, in particular, have experienced vastly different outcomes in the two countries – Greenpeace Russia and WWF Russia were both designated as “undesirable” and effectively banned by the Russian government in 2023, while WWF China and Greenpeace East Asia continue to operate in China, despite a similar tightening of NGO regulations. Using interview data and analysis of TENGO websites and social media campaigns, this paper traces how these organizations developed and adapted to the changing political context in Russia and China over time to shed light on the variation in state response.

Author

• Elizabeth N Plantan, Stetson U