Les moments de crise sont riches d'enseignements quant aux problèmes de collaboration entre administrations et médias, car toute crise est d'abord une crise d'information. Les autorités se trouvent empêtrées dans un réseau d'obligations contradictoires, appelées à collaborer avec les médias, partenaires incontournables pour informer et cadrer la catastrophe. Si la communication de crise obéit à des contraintes particulières, elle se construit en prolongement des régimes « hors crise ». Il convient de prolonger l'analyse des régimes de communication de crise à la période de vigilance médiatique afin de cerner les contours et enjeux des régimes informationnels dans lesquels elle se replace. Mots-clés Administration publique, gestion de crise, médias, régime informationnel, Société du risque.

Siting controversies are commonplace, as well against the construction of roads, railways, nuclear waste disposals, as against windfarms. Local citizens resist against siting decisions taken by the authorities, following a dynamics often quoted as 'Not In My Back Yard'. Yet contested for its lack of analytical value, NIMBY is still used strategically by actors to qualify citizens as irrational and egoistic. Beyond this labeling, many factors are investigated to understand the dynamics behind siting controversies. In this paper, we focus on the impact of the legal procedure structuring the implantation of windfarms in the Walloon Region (Belgium), and its translations within different decision-making processes in specific case studies. To that regard, we consider the legal procedure as a 'public policy instrument'. It is neither neutral nor natural, and carry values and interests. It organizes interpersonal relations between actors, and is potentially catalyzer of frustrations. In addition, this legal procedure is the object of translations within different contexts, including different actors participating to specific decision-making processes. The empirical approach of this paper is based on case studies data and on the use of an innovative methodology called 'Open Process Workshop'. This methodology consists of a structured workshop with key stakeholders, during which the legal procedure is questioned. Overall, we demonstrate that the focus on the legal procedureand its translations within different decision-making processesallows systemic analysis providing deep understandings of controversies and reaffirming the interlinks between 'the social' and 'the technical' in such controversies. In addition, we argue that the methodology used fosters the production of innovative knowledge, mutual understanding, and collective learning between the participants.

O princípio da precaução está inserido em um contexto decisional em evolução, marcado por uma incerteza multidimensional com relação às conseqüências ambientais, econômicas, sociais, éticas e políticas das inovações tecnológicas. Na ciência política de língua francesa, o princípio funciona como uma ferramenta estratégica, uma resposta política ao surgimento de um novo fluxo de incerteza social, voltada principalmente para as inseguranças do mundo científico. Neste trabalho, afirmamos que o princípio da precaução redefine a forma de gerir a incerteza científica, em uma sociedade caracterizada pela indefinição das fronteiras entre atores políticos e subpolíticos. Em sua aplicação, há uma linha de ruptura que reduz a margem de manobra decisória de determinadas entidades subpolíticas, enquanto incentiva outras a agirem. Contudo, enfatizamos que, em um mundo cada vez mais globalizado e interligado, os efeitos da aplicação do princípio da precaução são temporários e locais. Ainda assim, o princípio pode contribuir para os importantes debates a serem desenvolvidos em espaços institucionais, para uma ação reflexiva antecipatória e de apoio à decisão².

Participation, inter-sectoral action, networking and local-level policies are key-concepts mobilised by public authorities in the field health promotion. These concepts are implemented by those working in the field of public health without necessarily knowing how these professionals really understand or interpret them A participatory initiative organised by the Liege Centre for Health Promotion (Province of Liege, Belgium) offered an opportunity to clarify issues related to the ownership of these concepts by the professionals in the field. The initiative also served as a forum to nourish and develop reflection around how to build more coherent public policies in the field of public health.