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Tactics
Building Collaborative Relationships With Government Officials to Promote Change From Within the System

Citizens’ Watch identifies Russian officials who support democracy and human rights. They offer these officials opportunities to strengthen democratic processes in Russia. The legacy of Soviet rule and totalitarianism made democratic development challenging in Russia. Government officials had no experience in being responsive to the public, an essential practice in a democracy.

Tailored Approaches for Change

Citizens’ Watch monitors the actions of leading government officials. Individuals in places like the Inte­rior Ministry, police and judiciary. They then identify officials who show an interest in a more democratic government and support for human rights. People they also believe will be open to change. They tailor their approaches to suit each individual, always being respectful and supportive. In some cases, this involves transla­tion of international documents. The documents translated support democracy and respect for human rights or are otherwise useful to the bureaucrat’s job. In others, Citizens’ Watch invites officials from abroad for seminars. Or they support the travel of Russian officials to meet with colleagues in other countries. During Soviet rule, few officials had opportunities to travel and learn of the democratic work of colleagues abroad. Citizens’ Watch uses travel and exchange opportunities both to train government officials and to entice them to seek change.

International Collaboration Opportunities

The group hopes that access to these international documents will help illustrate the possibilities of government collaboration with citizens. They also believe that exposure to international colleagues will highlight the prestige of efforts to uphold human rights. It also provides government officials with ways to improve government and human rights in their own country. By using concrete information and examples.

Strengthening Civil Society

As a result of these efforts, Citizens’ Watch has formed many collaborative relationships with government officials and institutions. Approaching officials in a variety of fields, and supporting them in their efforts to reform their departments, helps strengthen civil society. It also creates a more democratic relationship between the govern­ment agencies and the community.

For more information on this tactic, read our in-depth case study.

What we can learn from this Tactic:

This Russian organization has shown that persuasion tactics can promote change from within. In other words, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Citizens’ Watch is trying to remind officials that they are citizens first, with constitutional rights that must be respected, and only next are they government servants. What we can learn from Citizens’ Watch is that, even in government systems with no tradition of engaging with the public or working in a democracy, there are open­ings for change. Other organizations hoping to take advantage of such openings in their countries will need to keep in mind that this approach requires a high level of individual diplomatic talent, along with a fairly deep pool of resources. These diplomatic skills and resources are also essential to another key aspect of the tactic: providing continued support to those who do want your assistance to advance human rights.
New Tactics in Human Rights does not advocate for or endorse specific tactics, policies or issues.

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