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Reappraising the Risk Society Thesis

Telescopic Sight or Myopic Vision?

University of Liverpool, G.Mythen{at}liverpool.ac.uk

In the last decade of the 20th century, Ulrich Beck's groundbreaking Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity created a ripple effect within academia, generating an upsurge of interest in the concept of risk. In the 1990s, the term `risk society' became lingua franca across a range of disciplines including sociology, politics, criminology and cultural studies. Nevertheless, despite being recognized as a versatile common currency, in recent years a series of biting criticisms have undermined the credibility of the risk society perspective. Thus, uncertainty presently exists within the social sciences about the utility of Beck's work for understanding emergent practices, processes and trends. As a consequence, there has been something of a critical impasse in terms of translating the fruits of the risk society thesis into a meaningful research agenda. Directly addressing these issues, this article offers a reappraisal of the risk society thesis in the light of the cultural preoccupations and dangers ascendant within contemporary society. In retrospective mode, the article locates empirical holes and taps into areas requiring theoretical elaboration. Looking forwards, the areas ripe for empirical exploration are excavated as a means of contemplating the possible implications of future risk research for the broader formation of public policy.

Key Words: Beck • risk • risk society thesis • subpolitics

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