Objective
PAGANINI focuses on key areas of FP6 and investigates how participation contributes to problem solving in number of highly contentious fields of EU governance. It looks at dynamic cluster of policy areas concerned with what we call "the politics of life": medicine, health, food, energy, environment. Politics of life" refers to dimensions of life that are only to a limited extent under human control - or where the public suspects that there are serious limitations to socio-political control and steering. These areas are strongly connected to normative, moral and value-based factors, such as a sense of responsibility towards non-human nature, future generations and/ozones own body. In these areas traditional mechanisms of governance can be seen to hamper policymaking and much institutional experimentation has been taking place. The research objectives are
(1) to analyse how fields of governance related to the "politics of life" constitute a new and particular challenge for citizen participation and the generation of active trust.
(2) To illuminate how citizens' participation in key areas of European research and technology policy that are connected to the "politics of life" can be made more effective and appropriate,
(3) to investigate the changing role of civic participation in the context of multi-level governance in the EU, and
(4) to contribute to institutional re-design in a the emerging European "politics of life. The project takes a case study approach to answer the main research questions: How have traditional institutions reacted to the challenges politics of life"?
Which institutional frameworks were created to deal with these policy challenges?
How is the public involved in newly emerging participatory governance?
Do they provide an increase in democratic legitimacy and/or problem solving?
Are they capable of involving excluded vulnerable social groups?
Which national/ cultural variations can be observed?'
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP6-2002-CITIZENS-2
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Funding Scheme
STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectCoordinator
VIENNA
Austria