Science,Politics and Institutional Design: Some Initial Notes on the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Regime

Abstract

The Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Regime is a good example of the complex relationship between institutional design and the weight given to scientific evidence. Although the institutional machinery has been functioning quite well on its own premises, the acceptance and weight given to scientific evidence has been variable. While institutional design inevitably affects the extent to which such evidence is accepted, the weight given to scientific evidence is better explained by background factors like political malignancy, or the asymmetries in the degree to which different states are affected by environmental problems and associated regulatory policies; and public awareness, or saliency. Possibly the most important challenge facing this system is the increasing scientific involvement in the decisionmaking process, linked to the rise of the "critical loads" approach. Whether such extensive involvement by scientific experts in the political process can be accomplished without seriously threatening thefundamental scientific legitimacy of the system, remains to be seen.