The Political Uses of Expert Knowledge

by Boswell, Christina

• ISBN13: 9781107404410
• ISBN10: 110740441X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-10
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

This book was first published in 2009. Why do politicians and civil servants commission research, and what use do they make of it in policymaking? The received wisdom is that research contributes to improving government policy. Christina Boswell challenges this view, arguing that policymakers are just as likely to value expert knowledge for two alternative reasons: as a way of lending authority to their preferences; or to signal their capacity to make sound decisions. Boswell develops a compelling new theory of the role of knowledge in policy, showing how policymakers use research to establish authority in contentious and risky areas of policy. She illustrates her argument with an analysis of European immigration policies, charting the ways in which expertise becomes a resource for lending credibility to controversial claims, underpinning high-risk decisions or bolstering the credibility of government agencies.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables

Acknowledgements

The Political Functions of Knowledge

The puzzle: explaining the uses of knowledge

Instrumental knowledge and organizational legitimacy

The symbolic functions of knowledge

The uses of knowledge in public policy debates

The Case of Immigration Policy

The politics of immigration in Germany and the UK

The British Home Office

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees

The European Commission

Organizations and cultures of expertise

Extending the Theory

Knowledge and policy

References

Index

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