Technological democracy: Bureaucracy and citizenry in the West German energy debate

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5259429

Hager, C J

What are the prospects for democratic participation in the modern technological state This question, long a part of German theoretical discourse, has gained new salience with the recent rise of grassroots citizen protest in the Federal Republic. Citizen action is directed against exactly those bureaucratic policies with high technical content. This dissertation interprets the conflict between expert bureaucracy and citizenry for the case of energy policy in West Berlin. The energy problem has both public policy and legitimation dimensions. On the former dimension, the author finds that the technicality of the energy issue is not a barrier to citizen participation. On the contrary, informed political participation, rather than traditional bureaucratic planning, has raised the technical competence of the state. This participation has, however, taken place largely outside the traditional representative institutions. On the later dimension, citizen activist object to the undemocratic form of policy making. Informed grassroots opposition has eroded the legitimacy of technocratic institutions. Yet citizen groups have had difficulty implementing alternative, grassroots democratic forms even within their own organizations.

• Research Organization: California Univ., San Diego, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5259429
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ENERGY POLICY
POLITICAL ASPECTS
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
CONSTRAINTS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
PUBLIC OPINION
PUBLIC POLICY
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
EUROPE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
WESTERN EUROPE
293000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
290500 - Energy Planning & Policy- Research
Development
Demonstration
& Commercialization