__Abstract__
In the 2000s, the largest ports in the Hamburg - Le-Havre range encountered public resistance from nature preservation and environmental pressure groups during port expansion, resulting in conflicts and, moreover, delays. Eventually, in the case of Rotterdam the conflicts were settled, resulting in the broad acceptation of the port expansion and even support of the pressure groups. The main question is why. Using the discourse coalition approach it is shown, that there were three preconditions for the rise of support. Firstly, only through covenants and specific (compensation) projects local stakeholders could be persuaded to support port development. Secondly, politicians and civil servants had to accept the fact that the role of the pressure groups had changed. For example, most of the delays were caused by the resistance of politicians against the new role of the pressure groups. Thirdly, in general this case shows that only through conflicts with stakeholder such as pressure groups and local citizens, innovative new strategies can be applied. Only then politicians and civil servants are willing to change their stance towards them. In other words, a comforting thought is that actually the conflict is the key to a structural solution
