Technical Controversies over Public Policy

Allan Mazur is Professor of Public Affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Praise for Technical Controversies over Public PolicyThis study of major public, technical controversies is done by a veteran craftsman of sociological and scientific reasoning. Allan Mazur depends first and foremost on scientific and technical understanding, recognizing that experts can disagree on scientific facts and public policy while reflecting his appreciation of these controversies’ dynamics as the inevitable result of progress. Mazur successfully carves out a place in the public debate neither as a partisan nor as a polemicist but rather as an honest broker and sage observer of history and the contemporary scene.Jonathan B. Imber, Wellesley College; Editor-in-Chief, SOCIETYIn Technical Controversies in Public Policy, Allan Mazur has written comprehensive accounts of most of the major public science controversies of the past half century and shows how political, ideological, and value-based factors displace or overwhelm conclusions based on scientific evidence. He argues that although asserting "correct" information is unlikely to change embedded views, journalists and authoritative people can improve public understanding by setting the record straight in a manner that reduces the polarizing heat of controversy.Rush D. Holt, American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmong the diverse subjects Allan Mazur has studied during his long and productive career, technical controversies are a recurring theme. In Technical Controversies over Public Policy, he expands substantially on his earlier work explaining the roots, benefits, and costs of technical controversies – especially global climate change – and takes a less sanguine approach to the impacts of such controversies on policy in this era of "truthiness" and increasing political polarization. This book tells a critically important story and deserves to be read by a broad audience: the academic community, policymakers, the media, and the public.Albert H. Teich, George Washington University

• PrefacePart I. Preliminaries1. The Controversy over Climate Change2. Technical Controversies May Be Good, If They End WellPart II. The Age of Heroic Engineering and the Age of Technical Controversy3. The Age of Heroic Engineering4. The Age of Technical ControversyPart III. Facts in Dispute5. Disputes Between Experts6. Separating Disputes over Facts from Disputes over ValuesPart IV. Participants7. Partisans8. Beliefs9. Social Links among ControversiesPart V. Protest Movements10. Growth of Protest11. Mass Media: Quantity of Coverage Theory12. The Fracking Controversy13. Seriously Science-Driven PolicyReferences