(Non)Contradictory Outcome: Multiple Results of Urban Movements in Russia

Abstract

The paper analyzes various combinations of the results and consequences of the agency of urban local movements in Russia, depending on the outcome of each conflict: whether the activists have managed to instate the cancellation of an urban development project, or whether the project has been implemented.

Theoretically, the research draws on approaches from social movement studies (W. Gamson, C. Tilly, E. Amenta, D. McAdam, M. Giugni, etc.), which provide insights into the results, outcomes, and consequences of contentious interactions. In particular, the author considers the «external» outcomes, i.e., how the efforts of initiative groups impact other social realms, and the «internal» outcomes, i.e., how participation transforms activists’ biographies. The paper presents both the expected and unforeseen outcomes of urban social movements' efforts through a combination of synchronic and diachronic analysis. Special attention is paid to the distribution of the discovered results and consequences across various actors involved in urban conflicts.

The empirical materials for this research include 18 case studies of urban development conflicts in six Russian million-plus cities, where semi-structured interviews with different participants of contentious interactions and experts were conducted. The analysis of empirical data demonstrates that only a few cases under study can be classified as unambiguous «successes» or «failures» of the activists. In some further cases where the development project was cancelled, the formal «success» was combined with: (1) potential threats to the sustainability of the achieved outcome from a diachronic perspective; (2) disagreement within activist groups over the desired improvements of the contested urban object; and (3) ambiguous or negative impacts of the achieved outcome on the urban object in the future. In several cases where the project was implemented, the formal defeat was combined with: (1) concessions made to activists or urban groups; (2) a situational victory or benefits received by some urban groups or parts of activist communities.

Regardless of the outcome, urban conflicts can be accompanied by other direct or indirect consequences such as the scaling of the initiative group, development of professional communities, and citizenry enlightenment, as well as positive or negative impacts on activists' biographies, city agendas, and related cases. The institutional co-optation of activists, previously assessed by sociologists as an invariably positive result and as evidence of the groups’ recognition, is actually of an ambiguous nature both for the former activists and for the city protection movements at large.