Knowledge as knowledge for policy

 

 

 

 

The expectation towards scientific and other forms of knowledge as a source for legitimisation, towards “experts as guarantors” is still vital.

Political decision making needs a knowledge base, and in modern societies this knowledge claim is mostly satisfied through external, e.g. non-political knowledge sources. Thereby our investigations show that the expectation towards scientific and other forms of knowledge as a source for legitimisation, towards “experts as guarantors” is still vital. Politicians rely on scientists especially in cases of difficult decisions, both the public opinion and the scientists themselves expect the political implementation of scientific insights. Cibele & al. (2010) put these expectations as follows: “The growing pressure to exercise “knowledge-based policy” or “evidence-based policy” has led governments to adopt measures aimed at adapting the knowledge produced by the academics or experts to the implementation of this goal“ (Cibele & al., 2010, 65).