Giving Voice or Quelling Dissent? Civil Society Advocacy for SDG 13 in Spain

• In Event: New Research on Spanish and Portuguese Politics

Abstract

Civil society organizations, local and global, are important to the functioning of democratic governance at the state and global level. International non-governmental organizations and transnational movement organizations play a key, yet debated and contested, role in advocating for change to respond to the most important global challenges. Among the debates around these organizations is whether they serve to advance the interests and bolster the power of grassroots social movements or temper demands as they bring popular voices into institutional power settings. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive and ambitious set of development goals agreed upon by all UN member states. Climate change is arguably the most important challenge humanity is facing today. It is addressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13. This study focuses on the way in which civil society organizations in Spain engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13. The analysis is based on 24 interviews conducted in 2022 in Madrid with INGO leaders, government officials, and social movement activist. Advocacy around SDG 13 provides an opportunity to examine the dynamics between social movement organizations and international non-governmental organizations at the local level. As the global goal calls for a holistic approach to combating climate change, different INGOs and social movements push for change around climate issues from different perspectives. The INGOs in Spain are a diverse group of organizations where five dominant organizations, Axis of 5, represent a distinct array of environmental positions. Some of these organizations have strong connections to social movements while others are more disconnected from grassroots organizations. Yet, the starting positions for all organizations are shaped by the political opportunities set by intergovernmental and governmental processes in relation to the EU, the Paris Agreement, and the composition of the Spanish government. Civil society organizations often work in coalition, a process through which individual organizations compromise their positions in order to strengthen the collective message for policy makers and implementers. While the INGOs and their coalitions are in communication and at times cooperate with social movement organizations, advocacy positions are diluted as a result of network compromises as well as the advocacy framing shaped around international and state level policies. Political parties that claim representation of social movements in government also play a role in limiting access of these movements to power center.

Author

• Ílgü Ozler, SUNY, New Paltz