Politicizing science: the alchemy of policymaking
In: Hoover Institution Press publication 517
Politics and science make strange bedfellows. In politics, perceptions are reality and facts are negotiable. The competing interests, conflicting objectives, and trade-offs of political negotiations often lend themselves to bending the truth and selectively interpreting facts to shape outcomes. In science, facts are reality. This collection examines the conflicts that arise when politics and science converge. In Politicizing Science: The Alchemy of Policymaking, eleven leading scientists describe the politicization through misapplication or overemphasis of results that favor a political decision or through outright manipulation of scientific findings and deliberations to advance policy agendas.