Priska Gisler, Silke Schicktanz
Introduction: Ironists, reformers, or rebels?
Reflections on the role of the social sciences in the process of science policy making
Science, Technology & Innovation Studies, Vol. 5 (2009), No. 1, pp. 5-17
Abstract
Public engagement has become increasingly important within the sphere of science
policy making.1 A broad range of discursive experiments and participatory methods
involving citizens, consumers, and other key stakeholders are frequently used
to consult the public about their opinion of new developments in science and technology.
This special issue of STI-Studies aims at addressing the role(s) of scholars
in this important field. Having personally participated in a variety of public engagement
exercises and public discourse experiments, and having carefully considered
how we (as social scientists) fit within these exercises, we have come to realise that
our roles are heterogeneous, complex and ambiguous.
Social scientists complete a number of tasks in participatory science policy making:
For example, they initiate public and/or stake holder discourses by adopting or even
developing participatory and discursive methods. They organise and moderate various
dialogues (for the case of Germany see e.g. Renn 1999). They oversee various
public discourse events and evaluate the process (for the case of Switzerland see
e.g. Gisler 2000-2003). They analyse and comment on the impact of participatory
methods, drawing on sociological and political theories (e.g. Maasen/Merz, 2006).
In brief, social scientists play a variety of formal roles, serving as organisers, moderators,
evaluators, commentators and others. However, these formal descriptions are
rigid and do not fully convey the underlying social, moral and political dimensions of
these roles. Furthermore, there is some ambivalence between the formal functions
and the socio-moral-political roles taken on by social scientists. This ambivalence
arises due to a conflict between the ‘form and content’ of these roles as well as the
fact that multiple roles may coincide with each other. For a better understanding of
the ongoing debate on participatory science policy making, it is necessary to reflect
upon this ambivalence because it affects social scientists’ accomplishments in this
important field.
Our contribution to the recent debate is a kind of self-reflexive turn: We would like
to carefully consider the role of the social sciences and the role(s) social scientists expect and are expected to play in the field of participatory science policy making.
Therefore, in this introduction, we raise the following questions from a theoretical
point of view: How do the social sciences influence participatory policy procedures?
What kind of explicit and/or implicit role(s) do social scientists play in the construction
of political procedures and public debates?
In an effort to address these questions, we will, first, argue how participatory policy
making is linked to the social sciences and its methodologies (chapter 1).
Second, we will contextualize the development of participatory policy making within
the methodological framework of the social sciences and the broader historical shift
towards the democratization of society (chapter 2).
Third, we will assess some of the roles social scientists have come to play in participatory
policy making. We suggest a way of rethinking such roles by unmasking their
often rather implicit social, political and moral premises and by critically reflecting
on the idea that there is only a ‘formal’ role played by the social sciences. This way
of rethinking is inspired by an analysis of social constructionism, as described by the
Canadian philosopher Ian Hacking (1999). We will highlight some of the complexities
and moralities linked to the concrete roles the social sciences play, especially in
the sphere of science and politics. This will be discussed in more detail in the case
studies and articles assembled in this issue (chapter 3).
Fourth, and finally, we would like to consider some ‘looping effects’ that the deconstruction
of social scientific roles may have on participatory policy making on a
more general level (chapter 4).
The social sciences, as a collection of disciplines, could eventually contribute more
to participatory policy making by reflecting on its current role(s) and by revising the
methods that are applied to specific scientific fields. In doing so, the social sciences
may gain considerable insight into how they function as a thought collective.2
2 We would like to thank the Swiss Science, Technology and Society Association (STS-CH), and
the Swiss Academy of the Social Sciences and Humanities (SAGW) for funding the workshop
“Ironists, reformers, rebels? The role of the social sciences in biomedical policy making”, which
took place at the Collegium Helveticum, Uni/ETH Zurich on 26-27 June 2008. Furthermore, we
would like to thank Mark Schweda and Johannes Weyer for their instructive comments on this
manuscript and R. Alexander Hamilton for his native language support.
