Nondemarcated Spaces of Knowledge-Informed Policy Making: How Useful Is the Concept of Boundary Organization in IR?
Résumé
Concepts of “boundary organization” and “boundary work,” borrowed from science and technology studies (STS), are now commonly used in International Relations to analyze organizations providing a science–policy interface. This article critically examines these concepts, with close attention to specific insights from the STS literature, for their added value in understanding the interactions between knowledge production processes on the one hand and policy making at the global level on the other. It lays the basis for two critiques: (1) an institutionalist critique of the use of these metaphors highlighting the mismatch between the interplay of relevant actors—scientists, policy makers, and stakeholders—via the social spaces they occupy and international organizations; (2) on weak assumptions on coproduction. The authors argue that the true challenge for science–policy interfaces is to generate politically “usable knowledge” and conditions for social learning, thus recognizing that politicization of science is more likely than the scientification of politics.