The Risk Society Revisited: Social Theory and Risk Governance

Description

Risk is a part of life. How we handle uncertainty and deal with potential threats influence decision making throughout our lives. In The Risk Society Revisited, Eugene A. Rosa, Ortwin Renn, and Aaron M. McCright offer the first book to present an integrated theory of risk and governance. The authors examine our sociological understanding of risk and how we reconcile modern human conditions with our handling of risk in our quest for improved quality of life. They build a new framework for understanding risk—one that provides an innovative connection between social theory and the governance of technological and environmental risks and the sociopolitical challenges they pose for a sustainable future. Showing how our consciousness affects risk in the decisions we make—as individuals and as members of a democratic society—The Risk Society Revisited makes an important contribution to the literature of risk research. In Memoriam Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Social Science Foundations of Risk 1 Meta-Theoretical Foundations 2 An Evolution of Risk: Why Social Science Is Needed to Understand Risk Part II. Risk and Social Theory 3 Overarching Perspective: The Rational Action Framework 4 Reflexive Modernization Theory and Risk 5 Risk in Systems: The Work of Niklas Luhmann 6 Jürgen Habermas and Risk: An Alternative to RAP? Part III. Risk Governance: Links between Theory and Strategy 7 The Emergence of Systemic Risks 8 The Three Companions of Risk 9 Risk Governance: A Synthesis 10 An Analytic-Deliberative Process Conclusion: Risk Governance as a Catalyst for Social Theory and Praxis References Index