Headline: Change through knowledge - Book presentation in Berlin

07.09.2013

The public wants to get increasingly involved in political decision-making processes. This participation – such as the protests relating to the “Stuttgart 21” rail project – expresses a fundamental change in the perception of democracy. Knowledge plays a crucial role in increased civic engagement: in addition to conventional expertise, important specialist knowledge, experience and insights from various perspectives can be incorporated into the decision-making process. This topic forms the focus of a new book published by the IASS Executive Director, Professor Klaus Töpfer, in conjunction with Dr Dolores Volkert and Ulrich Mans. The book is entitled:

“Change through knowledge. Opportunities and challenges for democratic participation: From Stuttgart 21 to the energy transition”,

and was presented on 9 September 2013 in the Max-Planck Science Gallery by Prof. Klaus Töpfer, Günther Bachmann, and Volker Hauff.

Renowned authors such as Heiner Geißler, Gesine Schwan, Claus Leggewie, Reinhard Loske and Matthias Kleiner discuss several themes in the book, including: What are the requirements for successful public participation? How can public participation be further developed? These issues will also be considered in relation to the energy transition: Will it be possible during the coming years to activate the dynamically developing knowledge that exists in society in this regard and implement politically legitimate decisions? In terms of its acceptance, the energy transition has so far fared well: the majority of Germans support the phasing out of nuclear energy. However, when it comes to how the energy transition should be accomplished, there is still no generally discussed and accepted way. Public debate and participation are necessary if Germany’s largest ever infrastructure project is to succeed.

In the IASS’s latest publication, the authors draw on the results of a workshop entitled “Change though knowledge – Knowledge through change”, which took place in October 2011 at the IASS. At the same time they also provide what are to some extent provocative answers to the question as to how successful participation models will need to be created and legitimised in order to revitalise our democratic culture.

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