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Paper short abstract

STS research on remining in the German Ore Mountains often faces expectations to produce “acceptance” for technological projects. The presentation identifies three conflict levels in transdisciplinary settings and argues that reflecting on the limits of acceptance research can improve collaboration.

Paper long abstract

The notion that social science research on remining can constitute a “minefield” is by no means new (Luning 2012). In the German Ore Mountains, STS scientists are frequently expected, for example, to contribute to the societal acceptance of technology development projects in remining contexts rather than to conduct open-ended research. This presentation addresses both the self-perception and external perception of STS work, as well as actual and potential tensions within transdisciplinary research settings.

Drawing on resource-related projects in the German Ore Mountains, three interrelated levels of conflict are identified. First, technical and natural science project partners tend to perceive public debates on remining projects and (latent) ecological distributional conflicts primarily as obstacles rather than as opportunities for sustainability transformations (Scheidel et al. 2018). Second, this perspective often leads to the application of an instrumental and depoliticized notion of “acceptance,” intended to ostensibly prevent conflicts (Owen & Kemp 2012). Third, these dynamics can in turn generate tensions within transdisciplinary project teams and, in the extreme, lead to the de facto exclusion of STS scholars.

Identifying and reflecting on the limits of “acceptance research,” it is argued, may ultimately help make transdisciplinary collaborations more productive for all participants. This is particularly significant in light of current political discourses that frame the implementation of technology-centered projects as “urgent,” while at the same time increasingly linking the eligibility of research funding to transdisciplinary and application-oriented research designs.