Citizens, Experts, and the Environment: The Politics of Local Knowledge [Paperback]

Frank Fischer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822326221 | ISBN-13: 978-0822326229 | Publication Date: December 19, 2000

The tension between professional expertise and democratic governance has become increasingly significant in Western politics. Environmental politics in particular is a hotbed for citizens who actively challenge the imposition of expert theories that ignore forms of local knowledge that can help to relate technical facts to social values.
Where information ideologues see the modern increase in information as capable of making everyone smarter, others see the emergence of a society divided between those with and those without knowledge. Suggesting realistic strategies to bridge this divide, Fischer calls for meaningful nonexpert involvement in policymaking and shows how the deliberations of ordinary citizens can help solve complex social and environmental problems by contributing local contextual knowledge to the professionals’ expertise. While incorporating theoretical critiques of positivism and methodology, he also offers hard evidence to demonstrate that the ordinary citizen is capable of a great deal more participation than is generally recognized. Popular epidemiology in the United States, the Danish consensus conference, and participatory resource mapping in India serve as examples of the type of inquiry he proposes, showing how the local knowledge of citizens is invaluable to policy formation. In his conclusion Fischer examines the implications of the approach for participatory democracy and the democratization of contemporary deliberative structures.
This study will interest political scientists, public policy practitioners, sociologists, scientists, environmentalists, political activists, urban planners, and public administrators along with those interested in understanding the relationship between democracy and science in a modern technological society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For the student of environmental science and its relationship to public policy, this book is invaluable for its broad bibliographic base and its careful and elegant theoretical reasoning.” - Helen Ingram, Environment

“[A] well-crafted critique of expertise and neopositive social science. . . . Citizens, Experts, and the Environmental Studies synthesizes the most important work on lay ways of knowing and makes major theoretical contributions to the field. . . . This is an ideal book . . . .” - David N. Pellow, Contemporary Sociology

"[A] more fundamental and more scholarly critique of the role of science in environmental policy. . . . [R]eaders . . . are rewarded by learning a great deal about the subject through clear, well-written prose."

- Helen Ingram & Bryan McDonald, Natural Resources Journal

"[A] commendably ambitious book which does not simply make the conventional case for democracy but also explores wider issues of epistemology and the status of expertise. . . . [A]n important contribution to the contemporary discussion over citizenship and expertise." - Alan Irwin, Environment and Planning A

“Citizens, Experts, and the Environment is real achievement. Building on his earlier work, Fischer presents a synthesis of a ‘postpositivist’ public policy approach and locates it clearly in contemporary environmental concerns and epistemology.”—Patsy Healey, Centre for Research in European Urban Environments, University of Newcastle

“An impressive, interesting, and multifaceted work. Fischer provides the reader with a wide and fascinating range of theoretical and policy-oriented materials, weaves in real life problems of public participation (or lack thereof) from around the world, and effectively brings together important concerns.”—Alan Mandell, State University of New York, Empire State College

“This is a very carefully crafted work that asks critical questions rarely asked well in policy studies and utilizes literatures not typically read in policy analysis circles. In doing so, Fischer effectively challenges the dominant mode of organization in advanced industrial society. A masterfully-executed study.”—Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic and State University at Blacksburg

About the Author

Frank Fischer is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in Newark and member of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick. He is the author of Evaluating Public Policy and Technocracy and the Politics of Expertise, among other books, and has coedited a number more, including The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning, also published by Duke University Press, and Living with Nature: Environmental Politics and Cultural Discourse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (December 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822326221
• ISBN-13: 978-0822326229
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource, November 10, 2007

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MCO "rock reader" (Appleton, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Citizens, Experts, and the Environment: The Politics of Local Knowledge (Paperback)

Wow, this book is really a must-read for those studying environmental policy. First, Fischer does a really good job of explaining the interface between science and policy-making. He reminds us that policies are first and foremost political and social constructions, and while science can play a role in informing policies, there are many other things that are priorities for different groups of people. He also does a good job of explaining the link between science and advocacy groups, as well as explaining how NIMBY (not in my backyard) situations arise and how incorporation of different kinds of knowledge, even that which scientists consider 'irrational', is essential in formulating viable environmental policies. Through this process, Fischer also forces us to rethink the way in which the typical roles of 'experts' and 'citizens' are cast.

I read this book while starting to write my thesis on water policy, and it made a huge difference in the way I thought about the results from my own research. Had I not read it, my results would have made a lot less sense, and my recommendations for further action would have been virtually nonexistent.

In all honesty, I have a really hard time succinctly summarizing this book because it covers so much ground, but it is surprisingly quite readable and really helps one to begin to make some sense out of how we might better strengthen ties between the public and experts in a way that redemocratizes knowledge production and use.