Epistemic communities in the promotion of ideas in the agenda of public administration

The decision-making process is characterized by a high degree of conflict between actors, each of which has its own portfolio of projects and proposals for overcoming the already actualized problems. Promotion of ideas in the agenda of public administration becomes possible through the efforts of network coalitions, whose success depends on the collective efforts of participants in managing network interaction, rather than of isolated actors. The political positions of a coalition can be weakened or strengthened by the action of external factors that are not controlled by it. Among these factors are changes in public expectations, deterioration of the economic situation, social structures operating in the political system and legislative restrictions. The success of a political coalition also depends on the promotion of new ideas, but they should be supported by the expert community and thus will have high chances of implementation in the practice of public administration. Bearers and translators of new ideas in the political and administrative system are epistemic communities - networks that unite professionals who claim to prioritize their expertise in a particular problem area. Epistemic communities are formed around specific problems that are becoming relevant in shaping the agenda. Their exceptional importance lies in the ability to create knowledge about the problem or a group of problems of interest to the decision maker. A typical example of epistemic communities is “think tanks” - research laboratories that create an intellectual product in various areas of public policy, which is the basis for making strategic decisions. The role of epistemic communities in the framing of the problem is due to two factors: the degree of uncertainty of the problem and the scale of the expert market. Combinations of these factors show the following possible roles: mediator, agent, advisor, shadow consultant. The influence of epistemic communities is explained by the following reasons: possession of up-to-day knowledge, ideological neutrality, non-participation in political competition.

Keywords

Authors

References