Controversies over such issues as nuclear waste, genetically modifiedorganisms, asbestos, tobacco, gene therapy, avian flu, and cell phone towers arisealmost daily as rapid scientific and technological advances create uncertainty andbring about unforeseen concerns. The authors of Acting in an Uncertain World arguethat political institutions must be expanded and improved to manage thesecontroversies, to transform them into productive conversations, and to bring about"technical democracy." They show how "hybrid forums"--in whichexperts, non-experts, ordinary citizens, and politicians come together--reveal thelimits of traditional delegative democracies, in which decisions are made byquasi-professional politicians and techno-scientific information is the domain ofspecialists in laboratories. The division between professionals and laypeople, theauthors claim, is simply outmoded. The authors argue that laboratory research shouldbe complemented by everyday experimentation pursued in the real world, and theydescribe various modes of cooperation between the two. They explore a range ofconcrete examples of hybrid forums that have dealt with sociotechnical controversiesincluding nuclear waste disposal in France, industrial waste and birth defects inJapan, a childhood leukemia cluster in Woburn, Massachusetts, and mad cow disease inthe United Kingdom. The authors discuss the implications for political decisionmaking in general and describe a "dialogic" democracy that enrichestraditional representative democracy. To invent new procedures for consultation andrepresentation, they suggest, is to contribute to an endless process that isnecessary for the ongoing democratization of democracy.