Risk regulation

There is an interesting review of Sunstein's controversial book - The Laws of Fear - and a reply by Cass Sunstein in the Feb. issue of the Harvard Law Review. The review is by Paul Slovic among others and takes issue with Sunstein for ignoring cultural perceptions on risk. The reviewers suggest that Sunstein's position cannot be reconciled, as Sunstein would like to think, with any notion of deliberative democracy. The review is better as a critique than as a prescription for institution building. As to the latter, the suggestions remain rather vague, though they are backed up by copious useful, often non-legal, references speaking to practical experience in deliberative decision making.