Yannick Barthe

Framing nuclear waste as a political issue in France

This article analyses the factors that contributed to the political framing of the nuclear waste issue in France. The sudden appearance on the political scene of this issue, addressed behind closed doors and in specialised arenas until the 1990s, generated numerous public debates, parliamentary reports and finally a law. The author critically analyses certain agenda‐building theories and then shows that this process of political framing can be comprehended only in relation to the technical problematisation of the issue and the history of the institutions traditionally in charge of it. The orientation towards a political treatment of the problem resulted primarily, albeit partially, from the narrowing down of the technical options for addressing it. Without technical alternatives, the political authorities appeared to be the only way of solving conflicts generated by France’s nuclear waste policy.

Sociologia pragmática: guia do usuário

Em trinta anos, a “sociologia pragmatica” (tambem denominada “sociologia das provas”) efetuou pesquisas empiricas relativas a todas as areas da vida social. Em conformidade com os postulados teoricos que defendiam, os pesquisadores que se reconhecem nessa corrente sociologica criaram maneiras consideravelmente novas de efetuar a pesquisa, coletar dados, explorar os campos, pensar cada caso e se servir das controversias e dos escândalos publicos como pontos de entrada na ordem social e na questao de sua problematica reproducao. O objetivo deste artigo e caracterizar em dez pontos o estilo pragmatico em sociologia e indicar seus requisitos metodologicos e suas consequencias praticas para o trabalho de investigacao.