Beyond consensus: perceptions of risk from petroleum developments in Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja, Norway
Abstract The proposed petroleum developments in the Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja are a controversial issue in Norway. We ask how insights into legitimacy and risk perception can help to illuminate the disputed policy process for petroleum developments in Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja. Our Q-metho...
| Published in: | ICES Journal of Marine Science |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press (OUP)
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz056 http://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/76/6/1393/31247132/fsz056.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract The proposed petroleum developments in the Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja are a controversial issue in Norway. We ask how insights into legitimacy and risk perception can help to illuminate the disputed policy process for petroleum developments in Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja. Our Q-methodology elicits three key narratives that steer the policy process: (i) best practice and knowledge does not permit coexistence, and fishing takes priority; (ii) coexistence is possible with good process where the nation-state manages risk; and (iii) the state and industry cannot facilitate coexistence, science and conservation come first. We argue these narratives reflect divergence in worldview in three key ways: (i) differential perspectives on the priority of local, national, and global scales; (ii) emphasis on the role of knowledge, skill, and rectitude in finding best policy; and (iii) differential concern for fish, the nation-state, and conservation. We argue for a more realistic approach to coexistence in deliberative democracy that does not aim for consensus and win-win outcomes, and assert that disagreement and partial victories and losses is a natural and healthy state of affairs in a democracy. |
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