Symposium: The Contribution of Laclau’s Discourse Theory to International Relations and International Political EconomyIntroduction

This symposium explores the value of Poststructuralist (or Political) Discourse Theory (PDT) for the analysis of world politics. PDT was originally developed by the late Argentine political theorist Ernesto Laclau, in early works together with Chantal Mouffe, and has entered the margins of International Relations (IR) in recent years, mainly by bringing in poststructuralist concepts that had previously been ignored by the more critical strands of theorizing. Against this background, the introduction (1) discusses the disconnect between PDT and research on world politics, primarily in IR, as well as PDT’s potential contribution, (2) provides an overview of PDT’s central theoretical tenets, in particular with respect to its social ontology and its theoretical concept of change, and (3) introduces the contributions to the symposium.     

Funktionssysteme ohne Praxis oder Praxisfelder ohne System?

It is difficult to conciliate sociological theory of practice and social systems theory. This paper will, firstly, show the reasons for this in some important epistemological decisions of both theories. The results of this comparison will be used to point out similarities between both practice theory (Bourdieu) and social systems theory (Luhmann) in the basically convergent definition of the sociological topic. The central thesis of the article is that the discussed theories can only be conciliated if the convergence of the apparently different definition of sociality as practice (Bourdieu) and as communication (Luhmann) is worked out. Only then it is possible to complement the insights of Bourdieu in the durable reproduction of social inequality with the basic insights of Luhmann in the functional differentiation of modern societies. The goal of this intermediation is to improve both theories, those of vertical as much as those of horizontal differentiation.     

Artenschutz durch handelbare Zertifikate?

Handelbare Zertifikate gelten seit einiger Zeit als erfolgreiches Instrument, um Umweltschutzziele m?glichst effektiv und kosteneffizient zu erreichen. Der vorliegende Beitrag besch?ftigt sich mit der Frage, ob dieses Instrument auch im Artenschutz angewandt werden k?nnte. Dabei beschr?nken wir uns darauf, den Grundgedanken des Konzepts aus umwelt?konomischer Sicht darzulegen, potentielle Anwendungsfelder eines Zertifikatehandels im deutschen Recht zu identifizieren und zu umrei?en, wo weiterer Forschungsbedarf besteht. Bei der Identifikation potentieller Anwendungsfelder fragen wir, ob und inwieweit unter den geltenden rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen beeintr?chtigte Habitate geschützter Arten durch neu geschaffene Habitate ersetzt werden k?nnen. Der Schwerpunkt der Betrachtungen liegt auf den Kompensationspflichten der Eingriffsregelung, den Zugriffsverboten des Artenschutzrechts und dem Koh?renzausgleich der FFH-Richtlinie.     

Museum Outreach Programs to Promote Community Engagement in Local Environmental Issues

Ideas of ‘community’ and ‘community voice’ have been mobilised in collaborative programs developed between the National Museum of Australia and the Murray‐Darling Basin Commission since 1992. This collaboration is set within a broader context of changing ideas and practice around governance, community and environmental issues. The recent Murray‐Darling Outreach Project (MDOP), a series of museum outreach projects with regional communities aiming to increase community engagement in local environmental issues in the Murray‐Darling Basin, is specifically examined. Evaluation research on the MDOP found that the approach to program development significantly shaped the types of voices, range of issues presented and the nature of the communicative forums established. The potential impacts on online audiences are discussed along with broader implications for government agencies involved in community partnerships.     

Editorial

Ohne Zusammenfassung