Epistemic Governance

This book argues that modern governance is performed by actors who seek social change epistemically, by drawing on widespread, public views of reality. Agents of change such as parliamentarians or social movement activists will assess and affect what they believe to be people’s conceptions of what is possible, rational, and desirable. This often means that these key authority figures will invest in credible knowledge production, as well as appeal to individual and group identifications, emotions, and values. Alasuutari and Qadir show how this epistemic governance works in three important arenas of social change: parliaments, which debate laws that constitute the bulk of reforms; international organizations that circulate global norms; and social movements and NGOs. Through their analysis, the authors’ detailed, innovative methodology for discourse analysis indicates the utility of epistemic governance as a new paradigm for research into global social change. This book will be of use to students in upper level degree programs who want to design empirical research into social change as well as researchers in sociology, political science and public policy.

“Epistemic governance” refers to the cognitive and knowledge-related paradigms that underlie a social system. In this volume, the authors apply the concept to higher education. In a comprehensive review of recent literature, they define key terms and concepts, arguing that a good, effective and sustainable governance of higher education is not possible unless the epistemic structure and knowledge paradigms of higher education are addressed directly. Effective governance of academic institutions is particularly important, given their essential role in generating and disseminating knowledge. The authors consider the practical and policy implications of the epistemic approach for promoting quality assurance, quality enhancement, and quality management of higher education, and their impact on university administration and academic career development.

This book examines the transformations of epistemic governance in education, the way in which some actors are shaping new knowledge, and how that new knowledge impacts other actors in charge of implementing this knowledge in the context of the decision-making process and practice. The book describes knowledge-based and evidence-based technologies that produce new modes of representation, cognitive categories, and value-based judgements which determine and guide actions and interactions between researchers, experts and policy-makers. It explores several major social theories and concepts, analysing the transformation of the relationship between educational and social sciences and politics. In the light of epistemic governance being linked to transformations of academic capitalism, the book describes the ways in which academics engaged in heterogeneous networks are capable of developing new interactions as well as facing new trials imposed on them by the changing conditions of producing knowledge in their scientific community and within their institutions. Knowledge is power. It is materialized in metrics, policy instruments and embedded in networks. The governance of European higher education, insightfully argues Romuald Normand, is not structured by hierarchical public policies, by governmental exercise of authority or heroic decision making. Normand makes a sophisticated intellectual argument, building upon the work of Foucault, Latour (Sociology of science), and the pragmatic sociology of Boltanski and Thévenot (sociology of justification) in order to precisely analyse Europe‘s higher education through the circulation of ideas and instruments. Based upon precise research, the book is a major contribution to the understanding of high education in a capitalist Europe, beyond the simple idea of neo liberalism. Normand, provocatively, even suggests the making of a European Homo Academicus. This is an innovative and important book for public policy, European Studies and the sociology of Education. Patrick le Galès, FBA, CNRS Research Professor, Centre d’Etudes Européennes, Sciences Po, Paris, France

Knowing Governance sets out to understand governance through the design and making of its models and instruments. What kinds of knowledge do they require and reproduce? How are new understandings of governance produced in practice, by scientists and policy makers and by the publics with whom they engage?

In Crippling Epistemologies and Governance Failures, Gilles Paquet criticizes the prevailing practices of the social sciences on the basis of their inadequate concepts of knowledge, evidence and inquiry, concepts he claims have become methodological “mental prisons”. Paquet describes the prevailing policy development process in Canada in terms of its weak information infrastructure, poor accountability, and inflexible organization design. In contrast, he suggests that social science and public policy should promote forms of “serious play” that would allow organizations to experiment with new structures. Paquet engages with numerous foundationalist programs in the social sciences in order to show their inadequacy and suggests important and unexplored directions in policy areas as diverse as education, science, health, intergovernmental and foreign policy. He closes the work with a plea for experimentalism in academic research, policy development, and organization design.

Epistemic Communities, Constructivism and International Environmental Politics brings together 25 years of publications by Peter M. Haas. The book examines how the world has changed significantly over the last 100 years, discusses the need for new, constructivist scholarship to understand the dynamics of world politics, and highlights the role played by transnational networks of professional experts in global governance. Combining an intellectual history of epistemic communities with theoretical arguments and empirical studies of global environmental conferences, as well as international organizations and comparative studies of international environmental regimes, this book presents a broad picture of social learning on the global scale. In addition to detailing the changes in the international system since the Industrial Revolution, Haas discusses the technical nature of global environmental threats. Providing a critical reading of discourses about environmental security, this book explores governance efforts to deal with global climate change, international pollution control, stratospheric ozone, and European acid rain. With a new general introduction and the addition of introductory pieces for each section, this collection offers a retrospective overview of the author’s work and is essential reading for students and scholars of environmental politics, international relations and global politics.

This is the first edited scholarly collection devoted solely to the epistemology of democracy. Its fifteen chapters, published here for the first time and written by an international team of leading researchers, will interest scholars and advanced students working in democratic theory, the harrowing crisis of democracy, political philosophy, social epistemology, and political epistemology. The volume is structured into three parts, each offering five chapters. The first part, Democratic Pessimism, covers the crisis of democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, public epistemic vices, misinformation and disinformation, civic ignorance, and the lacking quantitative case for democratic decision-making. The second part, Democratic Optimism, discusses the role of hope and positive emotions in rebuilding democracy, proposes solutions to myside bias, and criticizes dominant epistocratic approaches to forming political administrations. The third and final part, Democratic Realism, assesses whether we genuinely require emotional empathy to understand the perspectives of our political adversaries, discusses the democratic tension between mutual respect for others and a quest for social justice, and evaluates manifold top-down and bottom-up approaches to policy making.

Concepts of Addictive Substances and Behaviours across Time and Place presents fascinating new historical and social scientific research examining the temporal and spatial variations in the ways that addiction problems are understood and addressed in European societies. The book illustrates the changing and versatile nature of language use, of stakeholders concepts and ideas, and of the popular, professional and political discourse around addiction. The arguments that unfold concern the various cultural components invested in the ways in which the problems are viewed and addressed. A framework is presented for discussing these circumstances in view of current knowledge-based governance at a local, regional and global level. Concepts of Addictive Substances and Behaviours across Time and Place is based on research from ALICE RAP (Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe, Reframing Addictions Project), a multidisciplinary European study of addictive substances, and behaviours in contemporary society. This is an essential resource for public health professionals, stakeholders influencing policy for addictive substances and behaviours, students, and academics looking to better understand the historical and geographical variations of addictive behaviours across in Europe and the role of stakeholder involvement in the construction of addiction prevention policy.