Recasting the Stage: A Dramaturgical Exploration of Science-Policy Interfaces in PFAS Regulation

Abstract

Regulatory shortcomings in addressing industrial pollution are closely tied to the structural vulnerabilities of science-policy interfaces (SPIs), which are also susceptible to ‘capture’ by industry interests and lobby groups. In response, new forms of claim-making are emerging, whereby non-constitutional “stages” have become vital platforms for constructing meaning, challenging existing power relations, and prefiguring alternative realities. Such developments can be understood and interpreted through a dramaturgical lens, which highlights the performative and discursive strategies actors use to shape public understandings of and political responses to environmental conflicts. Using a dramaturgical framework, this study investigates emerging staging practices and interactions within the regulation of PFAS contamination linked to the chemical company DuPont – now Chemours – in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. The central research question asks: How are shifts in the dramaturgy of contemporary science-policy interfaces, particularly in the roles of various actors, shaping novel meaning-making processes around industrial pollution? Drawing on 17 interviews with key actors and a document and media analysis, the research reveals that the mediatization of SPIs is fundamentally reshaping how authority is constructed and contested. This thesis contends that media now constitute an additional arena where civil society, researchers, environmental inspectors, government officials, and journalists engage in dynamic struggles over meaning, legitimacy, and accountability. While this shift can democratize SPIs, it also risks fostering polarization, distorting public perceptions, and overburdening institutional actors. Overall, the findings highlight the need for regulatory frameworks to adapt to emerging forms of claim-making and shifting power relations, and to re-center values of social-environmental well-being within the regulation of the chemical industry.