Abstract: In view of societal processes of sustainability-related exchange processes, the communicative interplay between individual citizen and society, inseparably linked to intermediary levels of mutual conciliation, is essential. In this regard, science faces the challenge to deliver policy- and action-relevant knowledge for decision making. Thus, the design of communicative interfaces between science, politics and the public is of particular significance, given the fact that a sustainable society without social communication on sustainability seems to be clearly out of reach. This paper is intended to present a retrospective on knowledge-based research within the environmental discourse. It is shown that these approaches do not only allow for deepened analyses and substantial optimization of stored knowledge but, furthermore, also highlight opportunities for various contexts of sustainability-oriented governance. Subsequently, these approaches are critiqued within the context of knowledge communication and analyzed in the light of the contrasting "internal rationalities" of science and politics. In doing so, trends in medialization in both domains are taken as much into account as participative practices for including non-scientific actors in political decision-making. With regard to the individual level of knowledge communication, the ipsative theory of action is considered as a helpful pattern of thought as it adverts to effective selectivity between objective conditions of situational action and its subjective counterpart. These individually-based principles are reflected on key aspects of knowledge communication and analyzed in the light of contrasting "internal rationalities" of science and politics. In doing so, trends for participative practices for including non-scientific actors in political decision-making are taken into account. As a result, various dimensions of a dialogically-reflexive communication are proposed against the backdrop of future societal pathways towards sustainability, reflecting the diversity, dynamics and self-organization – all featuring the liaison between science and politics both organizationally and on an individual basis.