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to pursue whatever courses of action they deem to be in their interests,
irrespective of whether this contributes to the realisation of broader
objectives.
4.4.2 A communicative state
The state cannot itself drive through solutions to matters of ecological
concern. It must secure public support for the principles underlying its
policies if these are not to be met with opposition. It must also encourage
public participation with developing plans for their implementation. In
view of this, an important means by which the state can use its executive
authority to promote the achievement of ecological objectives is by
proposing reforms to existing arrangements for governance so that
these provide for more meaningful public involvement with shaping
the outcomes of decision-making processes. Reforms that may achieve
this end would include the provision of opportunities for participation in
legal frameworks for planning that go beyond simple consultation on
extant proposals, establishing channels of communication between insti-
tutions at different governmental levels by which information provided
at lower levels can percolate upwards to and in
uence decision-making
at higher levels, and requiring that public participation be conducted
through deliberative fora in which members of the public debate issues
raised by an ecological transition.
It is through the creation of decision-making structures that allow for
interaction between different levels of government and non-governmental
actors that the state can enhance its
'
communicative capacity
'
. Christoff
de
s ability to facilitate and participate in mean-
ingfully discursive democritisation, and to weld effective and legitimate
policy through the exchange
nes this as
'
the state
'
.
49
The extent to which a state possesses this
capacity will determine its ability not only to
'
'
foster ecological modernisa-
as Christoff argues,
50
but also to put policy
proposals for ecologically desirable change into practice when these are
likely, because of the impacts that they would have on peoples
tion that is open and re
exive
'
'
lifestyles, to
give rise to signi
cant levels of public concern. I consider in detail how the
legal framework for planning might be structured and the form that
institutions for public participation should take if this capacity is to be
enhanced in
Chapters 5
and
6
.
49
Christoff,
50
'
Green Governance and the Green State
'
,p.297.
Ibid
.
