Abstract Book of the 8th International Conference on Research in Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Who Gets to Decide? Citizen Agency and Institutional Distrust in Waste Management
Ivana Vladušić
ABSTRACT:
The effectiveness of urban waste management policies increasingly depends on the depth and authenticity of citizen participation, particularly in societies marked by institutional distrust. This study explores public attitudes toward waste infrastructure projects through the lens of citizen agency and participatory governance, focusing on the dynamics that influence support or opposition. Drawing on Arnstein’s ladder of participation and the NIMBY framework, the paper presents quantitative findings from a survey conducted in Split, Croatia, revealing that low levels of perceived involvement and trust in institutions strongly correlate with community resistance. The analysis highlights the importance of transparent communication, inclusive decision-making, and environmental education in mitigating opposition. Transformative learning emerges as a key enabler of pro-environmental attitudes, fostering both civic competence and critical reflection. The paper argues that tokenistic forms of engagement are insufficient, and that sustainable environmental governance requires a genuine redistribution of power, institutional accountability, and co-creation with affected communities. These findings offer broader insights into the political dimensions of environmental policy and the urgent need to rebuild legitimacy through participatory frameworks.
Keywords: citizen participation, environmental education, institutional trust, participatory governance, waste management