Risk and decision-making: a theoretical approach to public participation in technoscientific conflict situations

The literature on risk poorly addresses organizational behavior, political processes, and social movements. This is probably due to a tendency to view risk assessment and management as tasks that require logical and rational decision making rather than as venues for addressing issues of public acceptability and participation. However, the presence of modern risks heightens the necessity of rights-based democracy, and requires a renewed commitment to equal rights in public dialogue and enhanced citizenship rights within a participatory, communal, and cooperative decision-making environment. This paper argues that risks need to be evaluated in terms of their political and social consequences rather than exclusively in terms of possible effects on human health and environment. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.