Reappraising the risk society thesis. telescopic sight or myopic vision? Curr Sociol 2007;55:793–813

abstract: In the last decade of the 20th century, Ulrich Beck’s groundbreaking Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity created a ripple effect within academia, generat-ing an upsurge of interest in the concept of risk. In the 1990s, the term ‘risk soci-ety ’ became lingua franca across a range of disciplines including sociology, politics, criminology and cultural studies. Nevertheless, despite being recognized as a ver-satile common currency, in recent years a series of biting criticisms have under-mined the credibility of the risk society perspective. Thus, uncertainty presently exists within the social sciences about the utility of Beck’s work for understanding emergent practices, processes and trends. As a consequence, there has been some-thing of a critical impasse in terms of translating the fruits of the risk society the-sis into a meaningful research agenda. Directly addressing these issues, this article offers a reappraisal of the risk society thesis in the light of the cultural preoccupa-tions and dangers ascendant within contemporary society. In retrospective mode, the article locates empirical holes and taps into areas requiring theoretical elabo-ration. Looking forwards, the areas ripe for empirical exploration are excavated as a means of contemplating the possible implications of future risk research for the broader formation of public policy