Contextual Factors Shape Stakeholder Dynamics in Air Pollution Control - Insights from Six Majority World Cities

Air pollution is a major global health hazard, causing millions of premature deaths annually, with the worst impacts in Majority World cities. In these contexts, diverse local conditions shape stakeholders’ ability to influence government mitigation efforts. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with air pollution experts and stakeholders in six highly polluted cities (Accra, Kampala, Johannesburg, Jakarta, Dhaka, Delhi), we examine how economic development, democratic governance, and data availability structure the influence of key actors—citizens, local advocates, economic elites, and country-external agencies—on government mitigation efforts. We find that governments remain primarily responsive to economic elites across levels of economic development. In the lowest-income case (Dhaka), external actors play a more pronounced role. Democratic governance enables broader stakeholder engagement, especially among citizens and local advocates. Data availability expands opportunities for influence but also provokes governmental counter-strategies. These dynamics underscore opportunities and constraints for stakeholder engagement in pollution governance.