A Source of Information, or an Agent of Legitimization? The Concept of Epistemic Communities as an Analytic Tool to Study Public Policies
Abstract
This review article introduces the concept of epistemic communities as an analytic tool to study partly cognitive policy content, partly strategies of depoliticisation in decision-making, and last but not least it is supposed to contribute to the present debate on the role of scientific knowledge in politics. The first section outlines the intellectual history of the concept, the definition of Peter M.
Haas articulated in the monothematic issue of International Organization (1992) devoted to epistemic communities, their role in policy-making process, and finally other factors that may be relevant when assessing their influence. The second part explores the twenty years of reflections and empirical applications of the concept in various social, historical and geographic contexts.
From this perspective, the original definition seems to stand for the Weber’s ideal type. Nevertheless, despite its numerous critiques and theoretical modifications, the definition has preserved its explanatory value till these days.
The paper concludes with a discussion of two possible ways of operationalization of the concept: Firstly, the epistemic community as a more or less autonomous actor in politics; secondly, as a reproduction of the existing knowledge structures.