Effective risk communication as a factor in managing protests attitudes in a local community

Abstract

Contemporary research into the perception of environmental risks suffers from poor knowledge of risk communication in the local community and of how different ways of risk communication affect protest attitudes. This study aims to clarify communication strategies and practices used by members of local communities as a protest response to environmental threats. The work builds on the cultural theory developed by Douglas, Dake, Bremen, and others. This theory distinguishes between several cultural types (hierarchism, individualism, communitarianism, and egalitarianism), which differ in how environmental risks are perceived and what forms risk communication takes. The study investigates the case of the village of Nivenskoe in Russia’s Kaliningrad region where residents opposed the development of a potassium salt deposit. It is concluded that egalitarians and communitarians are more likely than hierarchists and individualists to participate in protests when a serious environmental threat arises. Respondents of all cultural types tend to trust information coming from their close social network, public figures, and environmentalists whereas people of business are trusted the least.

The gap between ecological violence and social injustice from mining industries in post-conflict West Aceh

“…This protest is closely linked to the preceding roadblock actions discussed earlier, forming a pattern of collective resistance against the mining industry's operations in West Aceh. The earlier roadblock due to land seizure and incomplete land compensation highlights the persistent challenges faced by communities, leading them to take direct action to voice their economic and environmental concerns (Krishtal & Shchekoturov, 2020). The cumulative effect of these protests not only sheds light on the localized issues of land use conflicts and incomplete compensation but also points to broader environmental repercussions, such as air pollution from coal dust.…”

Factors of Formation and Development of Regional Environmental Protest Movements in Modern Russia

“…• Допущение ситуации, при которой группы в социальных сетях, созданные протестующими для самоорганизации, превращаются в эхо-камеры. Вероятно, эффективность риск-коммуникации можно повысить с помощью концепции grid-grop М. Дуглас для сегментирования аудитории протестующих и ведения более гибкой информационной политики [26].…”

Safety of media space: legal regulation and the right of access to information

“…• with powerful potential risks and threats to the security and stability of the social order [2], which requires special forms of work with protest movements [3].…”