Jan Hodina
Deliberations on Intellectual Property Rights in Biotechnology and Healthcare - Conflict Resolution through Rational Dissent
Recent empirical studies operationalizing the procedural criteria of deliberations have shown promising results. Nevertheless, approaches intended to demonstrate the impact of "arguing" as a key mechanism of deliberative problem-solving revealed severe methodical difficulties, so it is clearly worthwhile to step back and reconsider deliberation in theory. Among other things, the question will need to be addressed as to whether it makes sense to dichotomize the notions of "arguing" and "bargaining" for the understanding of cooperation and conflict resolution through deliberation. Considering various possible limits of "reasoned consent", this study tries to identify the impact of arguing as a mechanism for rationally processing dissent within deliberative institutional settings. The empirical part of the work focuses on stakeholder deliberations in the conflict surrounding intellectual property rights in biotechnology and healthcare. These chapters of the work are based on a stakeholder dialogue which was organized by the WZB (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung) and the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).
