From risk calculations to narratives of danger

The purpose of this perspective article is to provide a broader viewpoint on the contents of this special issue on ‘narratives of change’ and the role of narratives not only for climate risk governance, but also for the science-society nexus at the global and local scales. Narratives of change are ambiguous; they can be narratives of risk (the technoscientific version of danger) or they can be narratives of adaptation (contributing to increase agency enhancing capacities). One common insight across the special issue relates to the multiple dimensions of change, danger and risk, implying that reductive definitions alone are often insufficient to describe and explain current political and governance processes. Complex accounts of change must help understand the many-faceted phenomenon of climate change, which will be crucial in thinking about how to meet and limit future impacts, how to envisage a future sustainable society, and how to deploy inclusive, diverse and democratic trans-disciplinary science.publishedVersio

From Elite Folk Science to the Policy Legend of the Circular Economy

This paper explores the implications of the widespread success of the term circular economy in the institutional and public debate. The concept of circular economy in itself implies a logical contradiction: on the one hand, the concept acknowledges the dependence of the economy on biophysical flows; on the other hand, the proposed solution—a business model guaranteeing a full decoupling of the economy from natural resources—seemingly ignores that biophysical processes are subject to thermodynamic constraints. A biophysical view of the sustainability predicament—the flows exchanged between the technosphere and the biosphere — is depicted to show that the idea of a full decoupling is simply due to ignorance of the knowledge generated in (inter)disciplinary scientific fields other than the dominant economic one. The success of economics as an ‘elite folk science’ is explained by the need of the establishment to ignore uncomfortable knowledge that would destabilize existing institutions. The success of the term circular economy can be seen as an example of socially constructed ignorance in which folk tales are used to depoliticize the sustainability debate and to colonize the future through the endorsement of implausible socio-technical imaginaries. A strategy that can lead to an irresponsible management of expectation: implausible master narratives are impossible to govern. Rather than continuing to impose technocratic plans, as if we knew the optimal thing to do, Post-Normal Science suggests that it is much more effective and responsible to adopt a flexible management approach, exploring the ability of self-organization of social-ecological systems.publishedVersio

The role of research in higher education: implications and challenges for an active future contribution to human and social development

Mankind is on the brink of a tragic era, in which the anarchic forces of the market and the incessant pressures upon natural resources on the verge of exhaustion will push sovereign states to increasingly dangerous rivalries. What will the role of research in higher education be, in response to the challenge of an active future contribution to human and social development? A good balance must be reached in the basic functions of research in order to avoid governance risks. While focusing only on the transformative function of research may pose dangers to the human dimension and development, unilateral concentration on responsible development aspects may generate reactive approaches and delay economic benefits. Disregarding the inclusiveness function may lead to slower development and even isolationism, and focusing on short-term issues is not good for long-term goals and future generations. We must reinforce research networks between ‘Southern’ and ‘Northern’, rich and poor, and developed and developing countries and institutions in order to bridge the gap between knowledge consumers and producers. This paper reviews aspects such as development, globalization and the inequality of nations; constraints and choices of the orthodox views of research; rethinking research and higher education to contribute to a better future; and knowledge integration for effective action.Peer Reviewe

Science and Sustainability

Der Weg zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung stellt insbesondere die Wissenschaft vor große Herausforderungen. Dabei ist ihr Beitrag ambivalent. Einerseits ermöglicht der wissenschaftliche Fortschritt Problemlösungen, andererseits werden durch die tiefen Eingriffe in komplexe natürliche Prozesse selbst wieder neue Probleme erzeugt. Notwendig sind daher eine Orientierung der Wissenschaft an Nachhaltigkeitskriterien sowie gesellschaftliche Institutionen, die die Qualität wissenschaftlicher Innovationen überprüfen (1)

What can history teach us about the prospects of a European Research Area?

This report is the result of work carried out by the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities at the University of Bergen, Norway. The work was commissioned by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre at Ispra (Italy), and as such this report is the final deliverable of our Service Contract 257218 with the EC-JRC. The history of science has a lot to offer to contemporary debates on research policy and on science in society. This is especially true when the history of science is not seen as independent from political, economic and cultural history. This calls for a historical sensitivity also for challenges, problems, conflicts and crises; and such a sensitivity appears to be timely in present-day Europe, where the word “crisis” is taking a predominant place on public and political scenes. Having argued that the idea that scientific knowledge should determine or prescribe the course of action is in itself part of the 17th century solutions that contemporary society has inherited as part of the problem, the report suggests possible lines of action and reflection for the European Research Area focusing on European values including diversity and tolerance, universalism, democracy and public knowledge. The report also discusses Grand Challenges and Deep Innovation, reassessing the present function of the ERA, and what policy indicators might be of use.JRC.G.3-Econometrics and applied statistic

Extended Peer Communities: Appraising the contributions of tacit knowledges in climate change decision-making

This paper explores the implications of assessing tacit knowledges of climatic change in extended peer communities, as applied in two European research projects on climate action. Post-normal science (PNS) proposes the extension of the peer community to co-produce better quality knowledge for decision-making on issues like climate change, where facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent. The paper has two aims. The first, more practical, is to explore methods for critically appraising tacit knowledges for climate action, using the example of two ongoing research projects. The second, more conceptual, is to improve practices and discourses surrounding tacit knowledge in current PNS praxis, with close consideration to the implications and challenges involved in including these forms of knowledge in decision making processes. By exploring theoretical perspectives on the topic of tacit knowledge, four challenges facing extended peer communities in engaging with tacit forms of knowledge have been identified: communication, representation, appropriation, and assessment.publishedVersio