Risk, danger, and trust: refining the relational theory of risk

摘要

The 'relational theory of risk,' proposed by Asa Boholm and Herve Corvellec in Journal of Risk Research in 2011, offers a theory of human constructions of risk, a theory that has not only sociological, but also ethical implications. Drawing upon interdisciplinary sociological and philosophical material, the present article suggests three ways to refine the relational theory of risk. First, I call attention to threatening relationships that are dangerous rather than risky. Second, I argue that a risk relationship only implies the exclusion' of the threatening object if the person who constructs the risk relationship chooses to distrust the threatening object rather than to trust it. Third, I amend the relational theory's explanation of social risk conflicts by raising the question of the origin of the harm, either in the injured party itself or in the external environment. These refinements strengthen the explanatory power of the relational theory both regarding sociology and ethics. In consequence, I propose a Relational Theory of Risk and Danger.