Participation of concerned actors and the public is a central element in the legal regulation of science and technology. In constitutional democracy, these participatory forms are governed by the rule of law. The volume critically examines participatory governance in this realm and makes suggestions with respect to further institutional and political-cultural developments. It assembles contributions of a broad interdisciplinary range within a comparative research programme, opening the black box of participatory governance in legal procedure. The contributions are the result of almost a decade of fruitful discussion between he authors. They also demonstrate the potential of a cross-disciplinary approach that stretches from sociology, via political science and jurisprudence to hermeneutics, linguistics and conversation analysis.

Introduction Governing Technology through Public Participation, Alfons Bora and Heiko Hausendorf PART I: Theoretical Concepts and Questions 1. Discourse, Participation and Sociological Theory, Patrick O'Mahony 2. Biotechnologies and Communication: Participation for Democratic Process, Giuseppe Pellegrini 3. Democratizing Agri-Biotechnology? European Public Participation in Agbiotech Assessment, Les Levidow PART II: Participation in the Governance of Agro-biotechnology 4. Making Sense on Participation: Sociological Reflections on some Results of a Case-Study on Participation in Administrative Decision-Making, Peter Munte 5. Law and Participation, Matthias Baier 6. Conflicting Forms of Citizenship? Referrals and the Principle of Transparency in Sweden, Henrik Rahm 7. Participation in Italy: The Public and Genetically Modified Crops, Elena Collavin 8. Communicating Quasi-Citizenship? Public Participation in GMO-Release Permitting Procedures in Hungary - A Conversation Analytic Approach, Zsuzsanna Ivanyi, Andras Kertesz, Kornelia Marinecz PART III: Reflections on the Future of Participatory Governance 9. Participatory Technology Assessment and the "Institutional Void": Investigating Democratic Theory and Representative Politics, Gabriele Abels 10. Participation and Beyond. Dynamics of Social Positions in Participatory Discourse, Alfons Bora and Heiko Hausendorf About the Authors Index