ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how risk emotions can be integrated in political participation and decision making about risk. It develops a procedural approach for decision making about risk that explicitly encourages and includes moral emotions as important sources of ethical insight. Emotions are generally excluded from political decision making. This also holds in regard to political decision making about technological risks. Technological risks can have profound effects on people's well-being and values, and this should be explicitly addressed in participatory risk assessment (PRA). The chapter discusses the role of emotions of each of the major stakeholders in risk decision making. Decision making and debates about risky technologies involve three main groups: the public; the experts; and the policy makers. Conventional research on risk emotions mainly focuses on the public. Emotions can help all stakeholders to be aware of moral and societal responsibilities, and emotions can provide for mutual understanding.
