Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung bei diskursiven Konfliktlösungsverfahren auf regionaler Ebene. Potentielle Ansätze zur Nutzung von Risikokommunikation im Rahmen von e-Government
Authors: Dopfer Jaqui 
Published: December 2021

Whereas at the end of the 20th century there were still high expectations associated with the use of new media in terms of a democratisation of social discourse and new potential for citizens to participate in political decision-making, disillusionment is now spreading. Even today, the internet is often seen only as a technical tool for the transmission of information and communication, which serves as a structural supplement to "real" discourse and decision-making processes. In fact, however, the use of new media can open up additional, previously non-existent possibilities for well-founded and substantial citizen participation, especially at regional and supra-regional level. According to the results of this study, the informal, mediative procedures for conflict resolution in the context of high-risk planning decisions, which are now also increasingly used at the regional level, have two main problem areas. Firstly, in the conception and design chosen so far, they do not offer citizens direct access to the procedure. Citizens are given almost no opportunities to exert substantial influence on the content and procedure of the process, or on the solutions found in the process. So far, this has not been remedied by the use of new media. On the other hand, it is becoming apparent that the results negotiated in the procedure are not, or only inadequately, reflected in the subsequent sovereign decision. This means that not only valuable resources for identifying the problem situation and for integrative problem-solving remain unused, but it is also not possible to realise the effects anticipated with the participation procedures within the framework of context or reflexive self-management. With the aim of advancing the development of institutionally oriented approaches at the practice level, this study discusses potential solutions at the procedural level. This takes into account legal implications as well as the action logics, motives and intentions of the actors involved and aims to improve e-government structures. It becomes evident that opening up informal participation procedures for citizen participation at the regional level can only be realised through the (targeted) use of new media. However, this requires a fundamentally new approach not only in the participation procedures carried out but also, for example, in the conception of information or communication offerings. Opportunities for improving the use of the results obtained from the informal procedures in the (sovereign) decision-making process as well as the development of potentials in the sense of stronger self-control of social subsystems are identified in a stronger interlinking of informal and sovereign procedures. The prerequisite for this is not only the establishment of suitable structures, but above all the willingness of decision-makers to allow citizens to participate in decision-making, as well as the granting of participation opportunities and rights that go beyond those previously granted in sovereign procedures.