Democracy in the risk society? Learning from the new politics of mobility in Munich

It is often assumed that more democratic procedures will help bring about a more sustainable organisation of society. This assumption is questioned using the case of transport policy in Munich, and thus addresses the way in which the key issue of mobility is handled institutionally in a risk society. The importance of new democratic, participatory practices is illuminated as is the prominent role of new practices on a ‘corporatist’ footing. The new democratic practices are shown to be less effective then their neo‐corporatist counterparts in influencing strategic decisions that bring about more sustainable mobility and in influencing related processes of design of new technologies for sustainable mobility. It is suggested that models of democratic decision‐making in the risk society should come to terms with the fact that new ‘interactive’ policy‐making practices come in different types. It is the interrelationship between these practices that needs further investigation and conceptualisation.