Inhalt des Dokuments
International Symposium on 21-23 March 2012 in Berlin
After the nuclear disaster of
Fukushima and the discussion of related acceptance questions for
renewable energy supply and power grid expansions, the call for more
direct and comprehensive public involvement is heard. This includes,
amongst others, instruments of direct democracy such as initiative and
referendum.
The planned symposium shall address the question of
environmental relevance of decisions being made by the use of direct
democracy. With an increasing number of countries allowing for means
of direct democracy and with a rising number of decisions being made
at the ballot box the question what impacts these decisions have on
the environment gains importance. Some of the questions at issue
are:
- Do decisions being made by means of direct democracy support the achievement of environmental policy objectives or do they in contrast sometimes even hinder?
- What is the intention behind using means of direct democracy in decision-making on environmentally relevant topics (initiating/supporting, preventive)?
- Does direct democracy lead to compromises which result in harmony amongst involved stakeholders but include tradeoffs and negative effects for the environment?
While a large body of research and
literature exists on various aspects of direct democracy the effect on
the environment has rarely been studied. Only few scholars in
particular in the US have addressed certain aspects of this topic so
far. However, a comprehensive focus on the possible “instrumental”
and “educative” effects (Smith & Tolbert 2007) impacting the
environment is missing.
Thus, the symposium is intended to
provide a forum for exchange of scientists from various disciplines
and countries discussing the relation of direct democracy and the
environment and identifying promising future research
hypotheses.
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