The politics of risk in contemporary Portugal: tensions in the consolidation of science–policy relations

Abstract

In recent years, the political authorities in Portugal have increasingly drawn on scientific expertise in matters of public policy. Yet, this trend appears to be less a consequence of European-driven influences than an expedient to respond to difficulties in legitimising political decisions in particular around environmental or health risk. Based on two case studies (the co-incineration of hazardous industrial waste and depleted uranium in the Balkans) this article seeks to analyse the specific ways in which policy-makers are resorting to scientists and experts, as well as the tensions arising from this within the scientific community. We propose that such tensions are to be understood as a distinctive feature of a society where the growth and consolidation of the scientific system are comparatively recent developments. The positivist model of science adopted by politicians and scientists alike denotes their resilience in adhering to the current European trend to open up science-based decision-making and the struggle for identity building in the scientific community.

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