Politics of the precautionary principle: assessing actors’ preferences in water protection policy
Politics of the precautionary principle: assessing actors’ preferences in water protection policy
复制标题
预防原则的政治：评估参与者在水保护政策中的偏好
作者：
Florence Metz;K. Ingold
本文分析了在水保护政策中引入预防原则的前景。在问题进入政治议程，而科学上仍存在因果不确定性的情况下，政治行为者可以根据预防原则为国家干预辩护。它允许公众采取行动，即使与问题相关的风险仍不清楚。尽管预防原则在世界各地的卫生和环境政策领域得到了广泛的应用，但导致采用该原则的机制并未得到充分了解。为了缩小这一差距，本文调查了决策者对预防原则的偏好，并进一步询问：哪些因素促进了政治行为者对预防政策措施的偏好？为了回答这个问题，我们研究了新出现的微污染物的情况--一个最近进入政治议程的水质问题，在这个问题上，来源和影响仍然存在许多不确定性。我们依赖通过在瑞士政治精英中进行的标准化调查收集的数据，瑞士是首批采取政策措施减少水体中微污染物的国家之一，尽管仍然存在不确定性。通过时间网络自相关模型分析的结果表明，嵌入到协作治理安排中的行为者倾向于采取预防行动。政策设计的某些方面，如问题轻重缓急和目标群体成员，也影响到引入预防原则的前景。
This paper analyzes the prospects for introducing the precautionary principle in water protection policy. In situations where a problem enters the political agenda and scientific uncertainties remain about causes or effects, political actors can justify state intervention based on the precautionary principle. It allows for public action even if risks related to the problem remain unclear. While the precautionary principle is widely applied in health and environmental policy fields all over the world, the mechanisms leading to its adoption are not fully understood. To close this gap, the paper investigates decision-makers preferences for the precautionary principle and further asks: Which factors promote political actors’ preferences for precautionary policy measures? In order to answer this question we study the case of emerging micropollutants—a water quality issue that recently entered political agendas, where many uncertainties remain about sources and effects. We rely on data gathered through a standardized survey among the political elite in Switzerland, which represents one of the first countries that adopted policy measures to reduce micropollutants in water bodies, despite the uncertainties that remain. Results analyzed through a temporal network autocorrelation model reveal that actors embedded in collaborative governance arrangements have the tendency to prefer precautionary action. Certain aspects of policy design, such as problem prioritization and target group membership, also impact the prospects for introducing the precautionary principle.
DOI：
10.1002/pam.21836
发表时间：
2015
期刊：
Journal of policy analysis and management : [the journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management]
影响因子：
--
作者：
Scott T
通讯作者：
Scott T