What Role Do Scientists Have in Policymaking?
Substantial disconnect between the contributions of climate scientists and policy-makers’ reluctance to regulation and international commitment have marked the state of affairs in US climate change policy. Why has a global policy concern, such as climate change, been pioneered by US scientists but overlooked by Congressional policy-makers? How can we establish scientific expertise as a basis for institutional action in the political debate on global warming? The purpose of the proposed paper is to elucidate the role and relative power of science in US climate change policy. Informing the interrelationship between science and policy is crucial for understanding the legitimacy and role of science in policymaking. Several theoretical perspectives contribute to our understanding of the latter: interest group mobilization and group theory (Olson 1971), agenda setting (Kingdon 1995), the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) (Jasanoff et. al. 1990, 1995) and the soc
