Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Pielke's *The Honest Broker*:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_16-2007_09_22.shtml#1190393612
I reviewed Roger A. Pielke, Jr.'s [1]The Honest Broker: Making Sense
of Science and Policy in Politics in the summer issue of [2]The New
Atlantis. The review is now available on-line [3]here. Pielke makes
many interesting points in the course of his discussion of science
politicization (and policy scientization), and the threat posed to
science by "stealth issue advocacy." At one point, he makes an
interesting comparison between the politicization of science in
environmental policy with the politicization of intelligence in the
run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
Pielke draws a provocative and somewhat persuasive parallel between
the reliance upon the precautionary principle in environmental
policy and the doctrine of preemption in foreign policy, as
advocated by the Bush administration with regard to Iraq. In each
case, uncertainty itself is not a reason for inaction. To the
contrary, uncertainty can be a reason for action�it was the
possibility that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction
that justified preemptive action, just as it is the possibility
that anthropogenic emissions might cause tremendous environmental
harm that justifies precautionary climate policies. Preemption and
precaution are policy responses to uncertainty, but when the
potential costs of such actions are high�as with the Iraq war or
global climate change policy�the argument for preemption or
precaution may be difficult to make, so policymakers attempt to
shift the debate to safer terrain.
Framing these policy debates as questions of science or
intelligence can create incentives for the misuse of information.
In the case of Iraq, �the quest for certainty required by a
commitment to preemption elevated the role of politics in policy
and diminished the actual role of information and intelligence,�
Pielke argues. �It transformed intelligence into a form of
advocacy.� Much the same phenomenon occurs in the debate over
global warming. In each case, the expert information has been
oversold and the underlying value judgments upon which the policy
decisions rest are obscured. In this context, information becomes
�an asset to be used to achieve victory in the debate over values,
rather than a source of enlightenment.�
When scientific or technical information is presented in order to
advance a predetermined political agenda, it can undermine the
credibility of those who provide the information, as well as those
who rely upon it. The overselling of pre-war intelligence about
Iraq damaged the credibility of both the Bush administration and
U.S. intelligence agencies, and handicapped the administration�s
�subsequent ability to make similar decisions by discrediting its
own intelligence agencies,� Pielke observes. In much the same way,
overselling scientific evidence in support of dramatic climate
polices risks undermining the credibility of both the policy
advocates and the science agencies, such as NASA, that produce or
support the underlying research.
I should also note that Cambridge University Press is apparently
offering a discount on The Honest Broker. Details [4]here.
References
1. http://www.amazon.com/Honest-Broker-Making-Science-Politics/dp/0521694817
2. http://www.thenewatlantis.com/
3. http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/17/adler.htm
4.
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/archives/the_honest_broker/001234the_honest_broker_20.html
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