Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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This DPhil thesis discusses how two divergent risk conceptions, a 'social view' and an 'economic view' of risk, are constructed through inter-expert risk communication. Different and sometimes contradictory concepts of risk are mobilised in regulatory practice, but the origins of these divergent risk conceptions are not extensively studied. This thesis seeks to unpack this divergence. Empirically, I analyse risk communication among experts in the European Union (EU) during the creation of two risk regulation standards. The two case studies, one related to the development of the two-degree target of EU climate policies (the climate case) and the other about the negotiation of the excessive deficit criteria of the Maastricht Treaty (the euro case), can shed light on the relations between risk conceptions and inter-expert risk communication. I argue that through risk communication, an initial 'view' of risk can be entrenched and developed into a paradigmatic 'risk conception'. My analysis uses historical and sociological institutionalism, by focusing on path dependence of risk communication and social construction risk conceptions among EU experts. Through the two case studies, I identify four analytical dimensions of inter-expert risk communication: networks (the institutional setting and relationships between different experts), cultures (the mentalities of experts in relation to discussing risks), dynamics (the actual processes of transmitting and receiving risk messages) and strategies (the rationales supporting the decisions of risk regulation standards). My thematic analysis reveals four key distinct 'features' of social/economic views of risk: expertise (the types of knowledge mobilised), normality (characterising risk as either 'special' or 'routine'), probability (considering risk as either uncertain or calculable) and impact (seeing risk as either negative or positive). I argue that these four features can help explain the construction of risk conceptions, and more broadly, provide an analytical framework for studying how views of risk evolve and interact over time.

Orientador: Leila da Costa Ferreira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T09:50:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bosco_Estevao_M.pdf: 1064536 bytes, checksum: 6932d843d823c854b8aeca8199aa9cd9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O primeiro objetivo consiste em compreender e interpretar a teoria da sociedade de risco mundial elaborada por Ulrich Beck, de modo a deslindar os aspectos-chave que lhe permitem a caracterização de teoria. A definição desse objetivo como problema justifica-se pelo uso do ensaio como estratégia analítica/discursiva por parte do autor. Para tanto, a mediação teórica é estabelecida de forma imanente, definindo-se os conceitos reguladores da teoria, reflexividade e risco, como condutores da análise. As teses principais da teoria são assim delineadas, com seus dilemas específicos, inovações e possibilidades prático-teóricas. A partir disso, torna-se possível a crítica imanente, que por meio de proposições específicas, permite novas formulações conceituais, aqui circunscritas às seguintes questões: aspectos processuais do conceito de reflexividade; continuidade e descontinuidade na concepção de processo histórico-social; e a relação entre reflexividade, modernidade e incerteza, sob a perspectiva dos significados do devir social. Além dessas contribuições específicas, a pesquisa se justifica por abordar uma teoria sobre a qual não há críticas estabelecidas, apesar de sua difusão nos circuitos acadêmicos de uma sociologia globalizada, de suas contribuições significativas para a compreensão sociológica de problemas contemporâneos e das controvérsias que suscita no âmbito da justificação do argumento / Abstract: The first aim is to comprehend and interpret the theory of the world risk society, formulated by Ulrich Beck, in order to unravel the key aspects that allow its characterization as a theory. The definition of this main purpose as a research question is justified by the usage of the essay by the author as an analytical/discursive strategy. To achieve this goal, the theoretical mediation is established through an immanent perspective, in which the regulatory concepts of the theory, reflexivity and risk, are defined as the analytical conductors. The main theses of the theory are thus delineated according to their specific dilemmas, innovations and practical and theoretical possibilities. From this, the immanent critique becomes possible, allowing new conceptual formulations by means of specific propositions, which are related to the following issues: procedural aspects of the concept of reflexivity; continuity and discontinuity in the design of socio-historical process; and the relation between reflexivity, modernity and uncertainty, from the perspective of the meanings of social developments (devir social). Beyond these specific contributions, this research is justified by discussing a theory on which there is no critical review, despite its spread in the academic circuit of a global sociology, their significant contributions to the sociological comprehension of contemporary issues and also despite the controversies that the theory raises in the realm of the justification of the argument / Mestrado / Sociologia / Mestre em Sociologia

The aim of the present research is to advance a general predictive model of the social psychological processes underlying collective action in contexts where collective action is met with significant repression by the authorities. The model integrates the recent advancements in the collective action literature and examines the unique predictive role of anger and fear (emotional pathway), political, identity consolidation and participative efficacies (instrumental pathway), politicised identification (identity pathway) as well as moral obligation, over and above past participation. Moreover, the research investigates how perceived risk, due to government sanctions, shapes these antecedents and the willingness to engage in collective action. Five survey studies (Studies 1 to 5) test this model in various repressive contexts (i.e., Egypt, Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey). In addition, one experimental study (Study 6) examines the causal relation between perceived risk and (a) the antecedents of collective action and (b) the action intentions in a British sample. The results confirm the intensifying role of perceived risk, whereby it indirectly spurs further resistance through shaping the antecedents of collective action. The results also suggest that protesters are intrinsically motivated to engage in collective action when placed under risk. Specifically, although not motivated by political efficacy, protesters are strategic as they are motivated by the likelihood to consolidate the identity of their protest movement and the likelihood of their own participation to incrementally contribute to achieving the desired goals. Moreover, they are emotional, politicised and dutiful as their outrage towards how the authorities treat the protesters, their identification with their protest movement, as well as their sense of moral responsibility encourage them to take action despite the risks.

"July 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-229). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.