ALIVE: Accountability and Legitimacy of Governance Institutions that support Viable Environments



Status

external funds

Duration

01.01.2006 − 31.12.2007


Outline

The aim of the ALIVE research is to use environmental management data and analyses available at the UFZ to develop a better picture of relationships between multiple perspectives contributing to local, regional, national and EU (i.e. multi-)level environmental governance.

The research uses a data encoding system designed to identify (1) multi-level governance positioning and (2) epistemological perspectives of actors, discourse and decisions associated with the selected UFZ research projects. The empirical focus is land use / environment transitions in Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhalt areas over last 50-100 years. The research is intended to reveal how UFZ and non-UFZ actors contributed to the debates and decisions surrounding lignite mining and petrochemical manufacture in the region.

The basic method of the ALIVE research is the collection and encoding of data concerning the actors, discourses and decisions associated with the UFZ research projects selected for study. All three sets of data (actors, discourses and decisions) are being categorised based on their epistemological composition and their social/institutional positioning.

In the second phase of the research these three sets of data will be cross-referenced, in order to construe if and if so to what extent and in what manner, the epistemological composition of contributing actors, decision making discourses and final decisions are correlated with one and another.

Publications

  • Farrell, K.N. (2007) 'Living with Living Systems: the co-evolution of values and valuation', The International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology: in press.
  • Farrell. K.N. and Winkler, R. Eds. (2007) Complexity and Ecological Economics (Special Issue) Ecological Complexity: in press.
  • Farrell, K.N. and Mayumi, K. (2007) 'Electricity Futures: an application of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's general theory of economic production' invited for inclusion in the Perspectives on Energy Futures, Proceedings of the Biennial International Workshop: Advances in Energy Studies Porto Venere, Italy, 12-16 September 2006: under peer review.
  • Farrell, K.N. (2006) 'Reflections on International Political Economy and Global Environmental Governance' Organisation & Environment 19(2):270-274.

Confernece Papers

  • Farrell, K.N. (2006) 'The Shape of things to Come: a cartographic approach to understanding the complexity of environmental conflicts in Südraum Leipzig' presented at the Biennial Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics, Delhi, India, 15-18 December, 2006.
  • Farrell, K.N. (2006) 'The Politics of Science Concerning Sustainable Development: a 21st century reevaluation of Habermas' 1971 critique of Marcuse 1964' invited presentation at the Symposium Critical Ecologies: The Frankfurt School and Environmental Politics in the 21st Century convened by The Canada Research Chair in Political Ecology, Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada, Oct 20-21, 2006.
  • Farrell, K.N. and Mayumi, K. (2006) 'Time and Tradition in the Works of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen' presented as a poster at the ‘Perspectives on Energy Futures’ the Biennial International Workshop: Advances in Energy Studies, Porto Venere, Italy, 12-16 September 2006.
  • Farrell, K.N. (2006) 'Bitter Fields and better Fellows: the roles of science and society in creating and resolving groundwater contamination problems in Bitterfeld, Germany' presented at Annual European Association for Study of Science and Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 23-26 August 2006.