Peter Biegelbauer

Democratic theory and citizen participation: democracy models in the evaluation of public participation in science and technology

We argue that some of the controversies over the democratic merits of (participatory) technology assessment can be traced to conflicting assumptions about what constitutes a legitimate democratic procedure. We compare how two influential normative models of democracy - ‘representative’ and ‘direct’ - value public engagement processes according to different criteria. Criteria drawn from this analysis are used to compare a series of case studies on xenotransplantation policy-making. We show that the democratic merits of participatory technology assessments probably owe as much to the institutional context as to the precise evaluative criteria or procedural designs. This calls for a closer interaction between science and technology studies research on public engagement and comparative politics scholarship. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Learning from abroad: The Austrian competence centre programme Kplus

In 1998 the first competence centre programme was introduced to Austria. The programme was a major policy innovation for the country, not only due to its novel instruments and goals, but also because it was created in a new way, breaking with the policy style dominant in the RTD policy field before. The paper looks into the question why this major policy innovation could take place. This analysis applies a policy learning approach, and considers the knowledge resources utilized for the programme creation, implementation and evaluation as well as the forms of learning which took place. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

How different forms of policy learning influence each other: case studies from Austrian innovation policy-making

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the question whether different forms of policy learning influence each other. The focus is on relationships between different forms of policy learning, which are explored on the basis of case study research in the field of research, technology and innovation policy-making in Austria. Methods utilised are expert interviews and document analysis besides literature and media recherché. With the goal to better understand the mechanisms behind learning processes, different forms of knowledge utilisation are linked to organisation types. The analysis suggests that the introduction of radical policy innovations was possible because different forms of learning were mutually beneficial and enabled actors to reach their goals. Learning about how to obtain political goals provided opportunities to increase the leverage of learning on policy instruments and goals, whilst insights into policies from other countries were also utilised for political learning.

Dealing with complex matters: the political regulation of genetic testing and genetic counseling in Austria, Germany and Japan

The three OECD countries Austria, Germany and Japan in the 1990s and 2000s had to react to the increased application of genetic testing. The paper describes and analyses the regulatory efforts of the three countries that at first sight look very different from each other, Austria featuring a law on genetic testing, Germany finally regulating the matter by law after a long series of failed attempts to do so and Japan being content with self-regulation by medical professionals. Yet upon closer inspection a number of similarities become visible between the three democracies’ efforts to come to terms with the challenges of dealing with a matter as knowledge-intensive and complex as genetic testing and counseling.

Politik-Lernansätze im Vergleich

Im Rahmen dieses Kapitels werden zwei Ziele verfolgt. Einerseits soll ein Uberblick uber die politikwissenschaftlichen Arbeiten zum Thema Lernen in der Politik gegeben werden. Andererseits sollen einige wesentliche Kritikpunkte an den Lernansatzen diskutiert werden. Dementsprechend werden nach einem kurzen Uberblick uber verschiedene Lernansatze einige der Arbeiten nach den Rollen der Lernsubjekte, also der AkteurInnen des Lernens und deren Rationalitat, sowie nach den Lernobjekten, also den Quellen des Lernens, befragt. Daran anschliesend werden verschiedene Formen des Lernens vorgestellt. Im letzten Teil fuhrt die Darstellung von den Kritiken an den Lernansatzen und deren Entgegnungen zu einer Wertung der Lernansatze in Beantwortung der Frage: Was konnen Arbeiten, die sich an der Kategorie Lernen orientieren, leisten?