1Like every society, today's global society has a body of kno\vledge \\'hich is taken tor granted in everyday life. This knowledge, which is organized around the prospect of modernization, is currently challenged in several \\'ays. One of these challenges concerns the risks of global environmental change. We investigate the hypothesis that the conceptual machinery of modernization is experiencing a far-reaching transformation whose outcorne may be labelled as reflexive modemization. For this purpose, \ve propose a new rnethodology based on focus groups ernbedded in a process of integrated environrnental assessment. The methodology" )'ields prornising results which are consistent \\'ith the hypothesis. They point to f1.trther irnplications of the hypo thesis of reflexi\'e modernization which are both interesting tor theoretically oriented research and rele\;ant tor policy making.
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