Problem complexity and narratives in Moscow's waste controversy

Schlaufer, Caroline Lea; Khaynatskaya, Tatiana; Pilkina, Marina; Loseva, Victoria; Rajhans, Sanjay Kumar (2021). Problem complexity and narratives in Moscow's waste controversy. European Policy Analysis, 7(2), pp. 303-323. Policy Studies Organization 10.1002/epa2.1115

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Public problems are not complex per se but are defined as such. This article explores how problem definition in terms of complexity is strategically used in narratives to expand or
contain a policy conflict. We draw on the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to examine how actors use narratives to define problems and link these problems to solutions and
characters. Empirically, we examine narratives used in the Moscow waste management debate by drawing on content analysis of online texts and interviews. The results show that government actors seek to contain conflict by assigning less complexity to the waste problem than nongovernmental actors, who expand conflict by defining the waste problem as politically complex. Narratives with high problem complexity include many victims and villains and propose multifaceted and institutional solutions, while narratives with low problem complexity focus on technocratic solutions. Implications for the Russian waste controversy and the NPF are discussed.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

11 Centers of Competence > KPM Center for Public Management

UniBE Contributor:

Schlaufer, Caroline Lea

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 320 Political science
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 350 Public administration & military science

ISSN:

2380-6567

Publisher:

Policy Studies Organization

Language:

English

Submitter:

Caroline Lea Schlaufer

Date Deposited:

20 Apr 2022 11:47

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 16:14

Publisher DOI:

10.1002/epa2.1115

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/167293

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/167293

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