About the book
Aligning global governance to the challenges of sustainability is one of the most urgent environmental issues to be addressed. This book is a timely and up-to-date compilation of the main pieces of the global environmental governance puzzle. The book is comprised of 101 entries, each defining a central concept in global environmental governance, presenting its historical evolution, introducing related debates and including key bibliographical references and further reading. The entries combine analytical rigour with empirical description.
This unique work synthesizes writing from an internationally diverse range of well-known experts in the field of global environmental governance. Innovative thinking and high-profile expertise come together to create a volume that is accessible to students, scholars and practitioners alike.
Epistemic communities
Mai'a K. Davis Cross starts by defining epistemic communities as 'networks of experts who persuade others (usually elite decision-makers) of their shared norms and policy goals by virtue of their professional knowledge. Their reliance on shared expertise is what differentiates from other actors that seek to influence policy'. She elaborates by presenting the history of the concept, its increasing importance, as well as some criticism. Cross published the article 'Rethinking Epistemic Communities Twenty Years Later' in the Review of International Studies in 2012.
Full info
Mai'a K. Davis Cross
'Epistemic Communities'
In: Essential Concepts of Global Environmental Governance
Jean-Frédéric Morin and Amandine Orsini (eds)
Routledge, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-415-82246-6