Knowledge, power, and environmental policy: Expertise, the lay public, and water management in the western United States
When the transition to an environmentally sustainable society is considered as a political question, what does it suggest about the capabilities and limitations of democratic government? Are environmental problems and reforms so complex that knowledgeable experts must dictate environmental policy rather than abide by the will of less knowledgeable citizens? Given the challenges environmental reforms pose to democracy, this paper examines the policy-making roles played by professionals and laypersons in identifying environmental problems and fashioning related policies. After a selective review of the literature on the relationship among experts, elites, and the general public in public policy-making, the article then looks at water policy in the western United States as a case study of how specialized knowledge and environmental politics currently intersect. Briefly put, the case suggests that experts` cognitive power can shape public perception and attitudes in ways that discourage both effective political involvement by the public and the actual resolution of environmental problems. The article concludes with suggestions on how a more constructive relationship between a more competent public and more credible experts can be created.
- OSTI ID:
- 118659
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Professional, Vol. 17, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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