Contact: ceren.cevik@uni-due.de

Project at the Centre:

Adapt or Perish? Transnational Environmental NGOs in Authoritarian Contexts

Adapt or Perish? Transnational Environmental NGOs in Authoritarian Contexts
This project investigates how transnational environmental NGOs adapt their strategies when
operating within authoritarian regimes by focusing on tENGOs operating in China and Turkey.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork and qualitative analysis, it explores how these organizations
navigate shrinking civic spaces, state control, and shifting political opportunities. The project
develops a typology of strategic adaptation, ranging from indirect resistance to direct resistance,
and contributes to debates on environmental governance in non-democratic settings.
During my fellowship at the centre, I aim to transform my dissertation into a book manuscript
and publish key findings from both country cases. The project is situated at the intersection of
political sociology, global governance, and environmental politics, and it reflects a broader
interest in the challenges of civil society action under authoritarianism.

Research Interests:

• Environmental Governance under Authoritarianism
• Transnational Advocacy and Policy Networks
• Civil Society Strategies and NGO-State Relations
• Authoritarianism as a Governance Model
• Displacement, Infrastructure, and Spatial Justice
• Just Transitions and Environmental Justice in the Global South