Problematizing Scientization in International Organizations

Teklu Abate Bekele

doi:10.7577/njcie.4492

Abstract

Comparative education studies examined the roles multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations play in global governance and international development. Emphasis has been given to their engagements both at policy and practice levels as well as their impacts. Generally, the mechanisms international organizations use to govern education and development seem qualitatively to change over time. The most recent emerging research trajectory explains how international organizations primarily use the power of scientific knowledge for organizational legitimacy, credibility, and impact. This is referred to in the literature as soft governance, epistemic governance, scientization, or scientific multilateralism, as it significantly relies on the authority of scientific knowledge as opposed to hard, financial preconditions, for global governance and development. Our understanding of scientization is still in its ‘infancy’, partly due to its relatively recent emergence and partly due to the use of varied indicators to assess it across organizational types. To contribute toward further theorization, this study problematizes scientization in international organizations, with a focus on multilateral, intergovernmental organizations. The study is organized around answering this overarching question: What are the conceptual and methodological attributes or features of scientization in international organizations? Using sociological theories and conceptions of policymaking and transfer, it discusses core substantive, methodological, and theoretical issues of scientization having relevance for further research.

Highlights

Multilateral organizations, nation states, associations and organizations, social movements, and sciences and professions are considered as the major drivers of socio-economic, political and knowledge globalization
Extending research on processes of paradigm maintenance and the influence of international organizations as teachers of norms or judges of norm compliance, we show how the indirect power that international organizations exercise as evaluators of relative national performance through benchmarking can be highly consequential for the definition of states’ policy priorities
Considering the foregoing discussions, the following tentative conclusions are drawn about scientization in international organizations (IOs)

Summary

Introduction

Multilateral organizations, nation states, associations and organizations, social movements, and sciences and professions are considered as the major drivers of socio-economic, political and knowledge globalization. This is referred to in the literature as soft governance, epistemic governance, scientization, or scientific multilateralism, as it significantly relies on the authority of scientific knowledge as opposed to hard, financial preconditions, for global governance and development This seems the most recently emerging research trajectory and is generally consistent with the discourses of the knowledge society and economy (Bekele et al, 2021), as the significant production, dissemination, management and application of scientific knowledge seems to characterize the increasingly globalizing world society and economy (Carnoy, 1999; Castells, 2000; Drori & Meyer, 2006; Gibbsons et al, 1994; Knorr Cetina, 2007; Wiseman et al, 2016). Areas for further study and theorization are identified in the concluding section

Emerging Theoretical Frameworks as Triggers of Scientization

Scientization in International Organizations

Support structures

Concluding Remarks