| Abstract: | A focus on communication can provide in-depth understanding of public participation in natural resource management. Analysis of empirical material from a participatory process using the theoretical concepts of discursive closure and discursive opening revealed that openings were achieved, but the perspectives represented in the process were also closed down. The reasons for closures are discussed in terms of structural constraints, with participants shown to have many different constraints and different reasons for making closures. The conclusion is that the type of theoretical analysis presented in this paper could be used by a facilitator in meetings as a participatory tool to investigate closures and open them up to achieve a more deliberative process. |
