In the context of an increased attention to issues of participation, legitimacy, transparency and accountability in the field of environmental politics and policy, collaborative governance arrangements have been promoted to rearticulate the interactions between experts, policy-makers and citizens. This article discusses the relationship between the democratization of environmental governance and the democratization of expertise by focusing on two influential frameworks developed in the field of Science and Technology Studies: the framework of post-normal science, as elaborated by Funtowicz and Ravetz, and the notion of co-production developed by Jasanoff. By discussing in details the original formulations of these concepts, and by reviewing works adopting the two frameworks in the fields of climate science and policy, we discuss their potential contribution to the analysis of the politics of science in the context of environmental policymaking. We suggest that dynamics and outputs of the knowledge-making processes play a different role in the two frameworks, which reflects different sensibilities with respect to policy analysis-and in turn allows for a wide and diverse set of analytical opportunities.

An investigation of the copolymerization of cyclohexene sulfide and carbon disulfide using salphen and salen Cr complexes as catalysts and [PPN]+X– salts as cocatalysts, at different temperatures and reaction times, is reported. Both catalytic systems produce both polymer and cyclic products. For the first time, poly­(trithiocyclohexylcarbonates) (PCS) have been synthetized in high yields and high molecular weights. Salphen-based catalysts, in comparison with salen-based ones, show higher productivity and selectivity for polymers with high molecular weight up to 18 kg/mol when the reaction is carried out at 25 °C. At a higher temperature with (salphen)­CrCl, the maximum value of selectivity for copolymers (72%) was obtained at a short reaction time (3 h). At long reaction times, great amounts of cyclic by-product are observed, thus evidencing the tendency for cyclohexene sulfide and CS2 to provide cyclic products due to the stability of the trithiocyclohexylcarbonate. PCS possesses high refractive index (n > 1.72), and antimicrobial assays reveal that these materials are active against Escherichia coli and moderately active against Staphylococcus aureus. These properties along with the T g values of 80 °C make these polymers suitable for interesting applications different from those of poly­(trithiopropylencarbonate).

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Italian water services reform, started in 1994, has been surrounded by a lively debate on water management models; however, the story of the reform is difficult to understand if only those models chosen by local public agencies are considered. This paper provides a general picture of the reform, analyzes the decision-making process and presents a map of local outcomes. The decision-making analysis considers the course of action taken by the actors involved in reform from 1994 to 2008, and summarizes the events into three rounds. The map of the local modes of governance is focused on the relationship between local authorities and utilities, and has been realized through a collection of data from the 91 areas in which the national system has been reorganized, which has allowed the definition of four ideal types of outcome. The analysis shows that the range of solutions is wider (and the boundaries between them more ambiguous) than commonly assumed by the mainstream national debate which appears to overestimate the role of tools and of formal instruments, and, conversely, to underestimate the real and differentiated abilities and power of the actors in the water sector.

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