Environmental Activism and Party Politics in Electoral Authoritarian Russia

• In Event: Environmentalism and (Green) Party Politics in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

In the study of electoral autocracies, there has been increased attention to the relationship between social protest and elections, particularly during mass mobilization following allegations of electoral fraud (Beissinger 2007; Tucker 2007; Lankina and Skovoroda 2017). Existing scholarship has found strong incentives for opposition parties to actively recruit independent social movements to mobilize and sustain these electoral cycles of mass mobilization (Trejo 2014). However, there remains less attention to the decisions of independent social movements or grassroots activists to engage (or not) with political parties.

This paper seeks to address this gap by examining the connection between environmental activists and party politics in electoral authoritarian Russia. Given the recent rise of grassroots environmental activism across Russia, these activists could be an attractive partner for opposition parties seeking to broaden their bases of support. However, Russian environmental activists face a range of costs and benefits to engaging in institutionalized party politics, especially with opposition parties. Why and when do grassroots environmentalists seek to collaborate with (or form) political parties in Russia? For activists, what are the advantages and disadvantages of engaging in party politics? Furthermore, how sustainable is this engagement?

To answer these questions, the paper uses qualitative data from in-depth interviews with Russian environmentalists both within and outside of the party system conducted from 2015 to 2019 across Russia. The data illuminate the tradeoffs that these actors face when deciding whether and how to engage with party politics in Russia. The findings have implications for the feasibility of such engagement and its effect on electoral mobilization in authoritarian regimes. As such, the paper contributes to literature on social movements, political parties, environmental politics, and electoral authoritarianism.

Author

• Elizabeth Plantan, Stetson University