Abstract

As a consequence of the world’s present ecological crisis, the potential for political protest has increased and a demand for technologies of conflict resolution has arisen. One method, favored by Ortwin Renn, applies the ethics of open discourse to negotiations between politicians, experts, and citizens. The ethical appeal of this method can easily lead to an undervaluation of its shortcomings and risks-a problem which I will try to help amend in this article. Above all, it has to be noticed that the participation in open discourse can tranquilize grass-root protests even in areas where the willingness to engage in a compromise might hurt the true public interest. And who should choose which technology of conflict resolution is applied? The citizens themselves and not just the experts of discourse should probably decide.