Political Opportunity Structure Research Articles

Political PR in International Digital Communications: The Experience of the Eurasian Media Space

Digital media has become an integral part of the political life of citizens, as an increasing number of people around the world use digital media technologies for communication. Digital media contribute to the formation of socio-political factors that raise concerns about the spread of disinformation, information disagreements and political polarization.Aim. To analyze the tools, problems and opportunities of political PR in the context of digitalization of the media space in foreign countries and the EAEU countries.Tasks. To give significant ideas about the concepts of “political public relations” and “political communication”; to identify factors influencing political communication processes; to present international experience in the application of political PR in the context of digitalization of media; to formulate the possibilities for the development of Eurasian integration in the context of digitalization of the media space.Methods. The methodological basis of the scientific research was such modern general scientific research methods as: comparative analysis, statistical and structural-logical methods, content analysis of open sources of information.Results. The paper defines the role and importance of digital media in political PR activities, identifies traditional and modern factors of influence on political activity, as well as problems in the new digital reality. To build political communications with the audience, its impact and increase engagement, political organizations use new media technologies using multimodality. In practice, the digital inequality of the world population deprives a number of people of digital communication, and as a result, the necessary conditions for participation in the political and economic life of the country. The digital divide of the EAEU countries reduces the political communicative impact on citizens’ beliefs in the need to strengthen integration processes. It seems appropriate to introduce consistency in the formation of the Eurasian integration agenda and a single digital information field to increase the political culture of civic engagement in all EAEU member states.Conclusions. With the help of variation of resources, the necessary content is formed to create the necessary audience effect. Indeed, digital media has a number of advantages that have been proven in practice, however, political PR is influenced by the negative side of the development of digital communications — the spread of fake news, most of which cannot be traced to the source. Therefore, the transformation of digital opportunities, the distribution of political resources, the dissemination of political discourse and the structure of political opportunities in the digital age is the most relevant in the modern world. Using the example of the EAEU countries, it is proved that digitalization in the international media space causes the involvement of citizens of different countries in integration, generalization and formation of public support for the state.

Navigating the Secular Landscape: Religious Discourse on Transgender Rights in the United Kingdom

Transgender people face high rates of discrimination and health problems yet supportive policy measures are often opposed, especially by religious organisations adhering to cis-normative theologies. Scholars exploring the links between religion and transgender issues have examined a number of themes, but the way religious actors discursively frame transgender issues remains under-researched. This article contributes to work in this area by using the concept of political opportunity structures to examine the discourse of religious groups on the 2022 Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The study shows that arguments were typically framed in secular terms, drawing on the epistemic authority of science and a language of individual rights. Supporting groups used arguments designed to highlight the difficulties that transgender people face. Oppositional groups used themes based on biological essentialism, concern for the well-being of trans people, the risks to cisgendered women and warnings about the negative impact on society and religious freedoms.

To Praise or Pressure? Patterns of Social Media Advocacy in Times of COVID-19

This article explores how interest groups harness social media as a tool for either praising or pressuring their government. On one hand, social media provides an ideal platform for exerting external pressure on the government, enabling outreach to a wide range of citizens, journalists, and supporters. On the other hand, it offers interest groups the opportunity to support their allies and applaud government policies, fostering reciprocal trust and strengthening mutually beneficial long-term relationships with policymakers. The article argues that the positioning of interest groups on social media is driven by the political and policy opportunity structures in which they operate. Empirically, the article relies on an analysis of 3,897 hand-coded X-posts from prominent hospitality associations in nine Western democracies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings demonstrate that interest groups tend to employ pressure tactics when real-world conditions are advantageous to their cause, while turning to praise when favorable government policies are adopted.

Environmental Activism in Ukraine: Everyday Concerns as Reasons for Civic Mobilization

ABSTRACT Based on the results of a representative survey and 30 semi-structured interviews with environmental CSO leaders, we argue that citizens in Ukraine are more likely to participate in public mobilization efforts when they relate to unmet day-to-day problems such as environmental protection. Despite the relatively weak professionalization of many environmental organizations and weak citizen involvement, environmental activism has been strengthened in recent decades by growing awareness of its importance and potential to bring desirable changes, especially locally. This problem-based research asks how civic potential to address everyday problems by citizens themselves and the evolving political opportunity structure including the new civil society development strategy and decentralization reform impact environmental activism and the condition of civil society in Ukraine. Our findings demonstrate that environmental and animal protection have a particularly strong impact on civic activism, which has several important public and social functions from service providing and raising awareness to advocacy. Yet this activism to be sustained requires supportive and collaborative relationship between civil society actors and the state.

The pitfalls of smart urban infrastructure during a period of unrest: Networked dissent against smart lampposts in Hong Kong

While the notion of the smart city has grown in popularity, the backlash against smart urban infrastructure in the context of changing state-public relations has seldom been examined. This article draws on the case of Hong Kong’s smart lampposts to analyse the emergence of networked dissent against smart urban infrastructure during a period of unrest. Deriving insights from critical data studies, dissentworks theory, and relevant work on networked activism, the article illustrates how a smart urban infrastructure was turned into both a source and a target of popular dissent through digital mediation and politicisation. Drawing on an interpretive analysis of qualitative data collected from multiple digital platforms, the analysis explicates the citizen curation of socio-technic counter-imaginaries that constituted a consent of dissent in the digital realm, and the creation and diffusion of networked action repertoires in response to a changing political opportunity structure. In addition to explicating the words and deeds employed in this networked dissent, this article also discusses the technopolitical repercussions of this dissent for the city’s later attempts at data-based urban governance, which have unfolded at the intersections of urban techno-politics and local contentious politics. Moving beyond the common focus on neoliberal governmentality and its limits, this article reveals the underexplored pitfalls of smart urban infrastructure vis-à-vis the shifting socio-political landscape of Hong Kong, particularly in the digital age.

MOVEMENT OF MOVEMENTS: RUSSIAN ACTIVISM IN EXILE AND THE POROUS POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE

What happens when a social movement must relocate to continue its advocacy? Such a “movement” of movements has been going on—in a partial, fragmented way—since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, raising a host of issues for Russian social movements. Past research has identified several broad trends in Russian civil society prior to the war: enduring, evaporating, and adapting forms of activism. These terms captured, respectively, organizational types that had persisted since the 1990s, those unable to survive, and those that adapted to Russia's increasingly repressive environment. This article examines a new trend in Russian civil society, escaping, in light of the concept of political opportunity structure. Specifically, we find that Russian feminist and environmental activists operating beyond Russia's borders experience a porous political opportunity structure that crosses state boundaries, creating new opportunities for activism as well as constraints.

BEYOND LEGAL OSSIFICATION: THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD AND ENDOGENOUS LEGAL MOBILIZATION

Despite widespread perceptions of the National Labor Relations Act's (NLRA) waning relevance, recent years have witnessed a surge in charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Notably, over the past decade nonunionized workers, not seeking immediate unionization, have increasingly mobilized their Section-7 right to engage in “mutual aid or protection.” Drawing on qualitative interviews and freedom-of-information-act charge data of the NLRB, this study reveals two key findings. First, some regional NLRB officials have strategically redesigned their outreach programs to target “alternative worker organizations” focusing on low-wage workers. Second, these revamped programs correlate with higher numbers of charges brought by nonunionized workers. These findings illuminate the adaptability of the political opportunity structure as officials respond to the NLRA's perceived decline by cultivating new constituencies and elucidating the law's protections for diverse organizing efforts

Indigenous rights, social media and protest movements in Sápmi

AbstractFollowing the rush to minerals that would enable the shift towards green economies, the Sámi homeland is quickly becoming a crucible for the rising tensions surrounding the potential for new mining projects and large-scale infrastructure projects. The roots of these conflicts date back to the colonization of the north and continue in the present with the ongoing fight to maintain the Sámi heritage, language and culture, and increasingly to gain ownership of their lands. What initially began as activism within the legal system has, on occasions, transformed into outright protests. Social media increasingly plays a key role in disseminating the message of Indigenous protest among the protesters themselves and feeding into the national and international mainstream media. This shift occurs simultaneously with the construction of a dual narrative, constituted of both land-use protest and intensified demands for Indigenous rights, including, first and foremost, the right to self-determination. Drawing from Social media theory literature and the concepts of political opportunity structures (POS) and legal opportunity structures (LOS), this study argues that social media is one of the most essential tools used by Sámi activists to raise awareness about issue-based protests as well as to communicate demands for the right to self-determination when legal and political opportunity structures are not enough to support the cause. The power of social media lies in its accessibility, immediacy and visuality, which is illustrated in the article via specific examples of mining and railway construction protests in Finland and Sweden. Social media does not replace older tools, such as international human rights litigation, but their use can complement existing strategies for defending and advancing Indigenous rights.

Temporal and Cross-Regional Variance in Environmental Protest Activity of Russians (2007–2021)

The environmental movement in Russia has been a most institutionalized form of collective action. Originating from the Soviet period and gaining momentum in late 1980s, it survived the 1990s’ dramatic transformations as well as the changes in political opportunity structure in the 2000–2010s. Extant scholarship on environmental activism in Russia has been largely focused on case-studies of regional mass-mobilization, such as environmental campaigns at Shiyes station in Archangelsk. The paper represents the first systematic study of cross-regional variance in environmental collective action in Russia. Drawing on three datasets, we trace the general evolution of environmental protests in the period from 2007 to 2021 and provide a typology of Russian regions. The latter allows us to classify Russian regions by intensity and sustainability of eco-mobilisation. We demonstrate that, despite narrowing opportunities, the intensity of environmental protests during the last decade has been on the rise. The typology allows us to describe the existing variance and suggest new questions on the nature and factors of environmental protest activity in Russian regions.

Two tales of Kushtau Hill movement: ethnic environmental mobilisation and perceived costs of neopatrimonialism

In recent years the number of environmental protests in Russian regions has been on the rise, despite the shrinking political opportunity structure. In the Bashkortostan republic, the Bashkir Soda Company's (BSC) decision to develop the Kushtau Hill for soda ash provoked an environmental campaign to save the mountain. The Kushtau Hill movement succeeded, despite the highly repressive response from regional government and its tight patrimonial link to the BSC - two conditions identified in the literature as unfavorable to protesters. How is environmental discontent successfully mobilised under a repressive government and embedded extractive practices? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with activists, I trace two interlinked pathways to successful mobilisation. The first one testifies to the role played by national organisations in sustaining environmental collective action. Under a shrinking opportunity structure for formal ENGOs, the Bashkir national organisation “Bashkort” provided the emerging movement with its experience of informal organisation. Its leadership successfully linked ethnic grievances to environmental mobilisation byclaiming the Bashkirs' special relation to the mountain. However, ethnic and neighbour ties did not prevent a repressive response from the regional government due to a limited scale of the mobilisation. The second story deals with framing processes that expand the scope of potential supporters beyond particularistic ties. Protesters highlighted the perceived costs of neopatrimonialism to justify their demands. This framing put the republic head as a scapegoat who secured interests of the federal centre and BSC, compromising the residents' ecological well-being. Therefore, Kushtau Hill activists attracted new members, not putting themselves into danger of being perceived as extremists that targeted a regime-dimension.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ISLAMISATION PROCESS IN MALAYSIA AND NIGERIA: A SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY APPROACH

This exploratory, diachronic study compares the politics of Islamisation, which have undergone different patterns of developmentin both Nigeria and Malaysia. Islamisation is defined as an ideological translation of Islamism into policies to “Islamise” the state andsociety by expanding the scope of the application of Islamic laws and principles. Islamisation in Malaysia has been implemented steadily and progressively since the 1980s. It involves the “inculcation of Islamic values” in a wide range of aspects of society, including the economy. The Islamic penal code or hudud enactments were legislated in two states, but held in abeyance due to their unconstitutionality. In contrast, Nigeria observed the sudden and erratic implementation of hudud in 12 northern states in 1999, along with other bureaucratic adjustments. Adopting an interpretative case study approach of the comparative method of Arend Lijphart, we explain the two contrastive case studies of the ideological translation of Islamism by analysing the manner in which various political opportunities and structural constraints in the respective cases have shaped the Islamisation process. Data gathering was based on an extensive review of the related body of literature. Analysis was conducted using a social movement theoretical framework based on a structured, focused comparison. The dynamic conceptualisation of the state as a set of institutions, which is continually and dialectically reshaped by contentious processes, captures how the bureaucratisation and judicialisation of Islam have modified the nature of state structures and the structure of political opportunities, which in turn allows for additional channels of influence for Islamic activists.

Political psychology and the study of LGBTQI+ groups, politics, and policy: Existing research and future directions

AbstractSocial science interest in LGBTQI+ politics and policy has grown in the 21st century. Likewise, the political opportunity structure for LGBTQI+ activists has changed significantly, with historical expansions of legal protections only to be followed by the current period of backlash and retrenchment. In this article, we outline existing and potential research in LGBTQI+ politics and policy employing theoretical perspectives from political psychology. Promising advances in the study of LGBTQI+ politics and policy draw on framework and theories grounded in social and political psychology. Nevertheless, we also identify several significant gaps in the literature including the lack of focus on intersectional perspectives, subpopulations such as intersex people and those born with differences in sexual development, and the psychology of LGBTQI+ people and its relevance for their political attitudes and behavior.

Network dynamics of civil society: a longitudinal study in Malaysia amidst changing political opportunity structures

Abstract This article explores the role of macro-level factors, specifically political opportunity structures (POS), in shaping interorganizational network tie formation and persistence. Grounded in the POS literature and the multitheoretical multilevel (MTML) framework—specifically using the theories of resource dependency and collective action—we examine how changes in POS are associated with network structures in Malaysian civil society. Data were collected in two phases, reflecting different political contexts. Although the network never evolved into a decentralized or centralized structure, the most central organizations remained consistent and seemed to have been active in bringing others closer to reconfigure toward a more cohesive structure as the POS became more closed. This research contributes to communication network theory by demonstrating how incorporating exogenous environmental factors like POS can advance theory. It offers new insights into operationalizing POS within network analysis and challenges conventional interpretations of centralization in interorganizational relationships.

Social Movements in Hybrid Regimes: The Rise of PTM in Pakistan

Scholars have ignored regime type as a crucial element affecting social movement mobilization due to political opportunity structures. Even little is known about hybrid regimes and disputes. Understanding social movement's hidden or unintentional repercussions is another gap. This study uses the Pashtun Tahafuz (protection) Movement (PTM) of Pakistan to address this academic gap by studying social movements under hybrid regimes like Pakistan. The research finds that dual (emanating from both the military and political organs of the state) and haphazard repression by a hybrid regime, characterized by military dominance and limited political opportunity structure, can temporarily slow social movement mobilization but not stop it. In the long term, the movement becomes stronger and mobilizes against the state. As a result of its mobilization and advancement, a social movement under such a regime may also affect other social movements.

Individual legal action as minority activism: Romani Germans in 1950s West Germany

AbstractObjectivesSocial movement theory argues that activist movements emerge when the political opportunity structure is favorable. This article contributes to the literature on social movements and minority activism by showing that individual‐level activism happens even without a favorable opportunity structure.MethodsThe legal journal Rechtsprechung zum Wiedergutmachungsrecht (Case Law on Reparations Legislation), published from 1949 to 1981, reported on West German courts’ decisions about reparations claims appeals. All issues were examined for decisions on reparations claims appeals that Romani Germans submitted regarding West Germany's 1953 federal reparations law, despite the unfavorable political opportunity structure. The number of these appeals is reported, and select cases are discussed.ResultsEvery time a Romani claimant appealed a denied reparations claim, they were, according to feminist definitions of everyday activism, committing an act of activism. Such appeals appear repeatedly in the Rechtsprechung zum Wiedergutmachungsrecht, demonstrating that if scholars look for activism at an individual level, not a group level, evidence shows that members of marginalized minority groups engage in activism regardless of the political opportunity structure.ConclusionsThese findings show that, if individual‐level activism is included in scholarly analyses, it becomes apparent that minority activism occurs even when the political opportunity structure is unfavorable.

Becoming a young radical right activist: Biographical pathways of the members of radical right organisations in Poland and Germany

With the increasing popularity of the radical right, much research has tried to explain the motives of voters. Less attention has been paid to the motives of people to become radical right activists – specifically young people, a group with a high tendency to join right-wing parties. Within the context of the internationalisation of the radical right, this article draws on 28 narrative interviews conducted between 2019 and 2021 with young radical right activists in Poland and Germany, two countries with considerably different political and discursive opportunity structures. We propose to recognise a new motive for becoming involved in political activism: career-oriented individual self-realisation in Germany, as opposed to fulfilling a duty to the nation in Poland. While we identify two different types of radical activism within the different contexts – the (nationalist) anti-establishment populist career type in Germany and the (nationalist) anti-political intellectualism/elitism type in Poland – they both point to the normalisation of the radical right in the two countries.

Age, Political Participation, and Political Context in Africa.

Political participation differs across the age range, but little is known about these patterns outside of developed countries. Political context is a particularly important consideration for all political behavior in Africa, where only a few countries are fully democratic. Drawing from political opportunity structures theory, we investigate how political freedom conditions the age-based pattern of electoral and nonelectoral political engagement, as well as protesting. This study merges the fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds of the Afrobarometer data sets, spanning 36 African countries, with country-level data on political freedom from Freedom House. Using multilevel regression models, we examine how political freedom shapes the relationship between age and 3 forms of political participation. Africans aged from 18 to 60 years and living in nonfree countries are most engaged in electoral and nonelectoral political activities, though participation begins to drop markedly past age 60. For protest participation, young Africans living in partially and non-free countries are the most engaged in protests; yet limited political freedom again means a sharp age-based decline. The impact of political context on the age-participation association is nuanced in ways not anticipated by mainstream research on the developed West. Repressive regimes, while spurring engagement at younger ages, appear to disproportionately deter older Africans from political engagement, especially its riskiest forms. We conclude by calling for more country-comparative gerontological research with careful attention to contextual heterogeneity, particularly in the understudied Global South.

Pathways to Authoritarian Adaptation: How State–Society Interactions Push the Window of Policy Change in China

Under what conditions might authoritarian states adapt public policies to social preferences? How could social actors push the window for policy change? How might state–society interactions induce policy change as the practice of authoritarian adaptation? This article utilizes a new database of case evidence and the qualitative comparative analysis method to explore the relationship between state–society interaction and policy change as the practical manifestation of authoritarian adaptation in China. The study presents three approaches to policy change: state–society interactive strategies, policy entrepreneurs and the political opportunity structure. The empirical results reveal three patterns of state–society interaction leading to policy change, while submission is not a viable option for society under state suppression. Media presence may impede policy change, and the diverse functions of social organizations should be related to interactive strategies. In addition, social actors may identify political opportunities through multiround interaction, while the role of joint administration in effecting policy change remains unclear. This study offers a novel understanding of authoritarian adaptation.

Migrants’ Political Participation and Representation in Poland: What Do Political Parties Have to Offer?

Since 2018, Poland has been a net migration country, yet public debates on migrants and migration remain scarce and have been defined by a reactionary nature. This article, adopting a political opportunity structure perspective, focuses on political parties as the main actors shaping opportunities and constraints for migrant political participation and representation in Polish society. Based on a qualitative content analysis of party manifestos and parliamentary debates, and using the deductive thematic analysis framework, this study analysed three types of arguments parties have adopted regarding the admission of migrants. The findings revealed that Polish political parties, failing to see non-voting migrants as promising electoral targets, have weaponised the migrant issue and used it as an element of the partisan battle to attack opponents, especially during the election campaign period, instead of stimulating migrants’ political participation and offering them channels for representation.

Revisiting the Formation and Radicalisation of Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) through Social Movement Theory

This paper uses social movement theory to examine the rise and development of Boko Haram and AQIM into radical groups. Boko Haram and AQIM were initially established as moderate and conservative Islamist groups in Nigeria and Algeria respectively. AQIM was originally a political party – the FIS but changed names to the GIA, the GSPC, and AQIM each with a different modus operandi. Boko Haram was a local organization that has been espousing an anti-system frame alongside violent tactics since 2009. Relying on secondary data, this paper found that the emergence and eventual transformation of Boko Haram and AQIM into radical movements signify the existence of social movement factors of political opportunity structures, mobilizing structures, and framing processes in Nigeria and Algeria. Results from content analysis of the data show that while the two movements emerged in two distinct socio-economic and political environments, they were rational actors who continued to utilize the available political structures opportunity, mobilizing structures and framing processes to mobilize and sustain collective actions. It is evident that government repression only made the two groups change tactics and strategies when what they regarded as free spaces diminished at times they gathered material and non-material resources. That coincided with the radical views of some of the groups’ members, the presence of mobilizing structures, and a frame resonance that ensured recruitment into the two movements.