Abstract: The frequent occurrence of rural environmental conflicts affects economic and social development; thus, it is of great value to explore their causes. This study investigates the coupling of the causes of rural environmental conflicts, using crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA). It analyzes 30 typical cases of these conflicts in China from 2001 to 2019, and draws on the theory of political opportunity structure. The results show that there are eight combined pathways for the development of rural environmental conflicts, three of which are highly explanatory. Further analysis shows that institutionalized appeal channels are blocked and that the coverage of the government’s negative response is wide, with news media playing an important role and rural elites playing a limited guiding role. By analyzing the combined pathways and typical cases, this study constructs a coupling mechanism of the factors that cause rural environmental conflicts, providing insights and guidance for conflict governance in rural areas.