* Corresponding Author
Science, Power, and Democracy: A Critical Perspective of Political Influence on Knowledge Production
https://doi.org/10.22146/jf.100391 Moch Zihad Islami(1*), Lailiy Muthmainnah(2)
(1) Universitas Gadjah Mada
(2) Universitas Gadjah Mada
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
This study aims to explore the relationship between science, power, and democracy. This relationship stems from the fundamental argument that science is always linked to values, whether political, ideological, or even economic interests. While science can contribute positively to transforming public life for the better, it can also give rise to exclusivity and elitism in the scientific community, which can undermine democratic principles and values. This study demonstrates that the relationship between science and politics is ambivalent, as it can both strengthen the legitimacy of public governance and create the risk of technocracy and expert dominance, leading to the public being perceived as lacking adequate epistemic capacity in certain scientific fields. Therefore, efforts are needed to steer science toward a true public interest through the democratization of science, both procedurally and substantively. However, normative boundaries remain crucial: when emerging public values are discriminatory, scientists are obligated to reject them, as they contradict the egalitarian principles that underlie democracy. Furthermore, public trust in science must be maintained by ensuring that the public is fully imagined and involved in the knowledge production process. Thus, public-oriented science must be committed to the values of humanity and equality.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Audretsch, D. B., Bozeman, B., Combs, K. L., Feldman, M., Link, A. N., Siegel, D. S., Stephan, P., Tassey, G., & Wessner, C. (2002). The economics of science and technology. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 27(2), 155–203. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014382532639
Barker, G., & Kitcher, P. (2014). Philosophy of science: A new introduction. Oxford University Press.
Barney, D. (2000). Prometheus wired: The hope for democracy in the age of network technology. UCB Press.
Ben-David, J. (1970). Introduction: Sociology of science. International Social Science Journal, 22(2), 8–27.
Bernal, J. D. (1966). [Review of the book The scientific estate, by D.K. Price]. Nature, 209, 115–116. https://doi.org/10.1038/209115a0
Bertsou, E. (2020). Conclusion-echnocracy and democracy: Friends or foes? In E. Bertsou & D. Caramani (Eds.), The technocratic challenge to democracy (pp. 247–269). Routledge.
Blume, S. S. (1974). Toward a political sociology of science. The Free Press.
Bouter, L. (2010). Knowledge as a common good: The societal relevance of scientific research. Higher Education Management and Policy, 22(1), 119–133. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/higher-education-management-and-policy/volume-22/issue-1_hemp-v22-1-en.html
Brown, M. B. (2009). Science in democracy: Expertise, institutions, and representation. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262013246.001.0001
Bucchi, M. (2004). Science in society: An introduction to social studies of science. Routledge.
Christophorou, L. G. (2002). Place of science in a world of values and facts. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Collingridge, D. (1980). The social control of technology. Open University Press.
Cologna, V., Mede, N. G., Berger, S., Besley, J., Brick, C., Joubert, M., Maibach, E. W., Mihelj, S., Oreskes, N., Schäfer, M. S., van der Linden, S., Abdul Aziz, N. I., Abdulsalam, S., Shamsi, N. A., Aczel, B., Adinugroho, I., Alabrese, E., Aldoh, A., Alfano, M., … Zwaan, R. A. (2025). Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour, 9(4), 713–730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5
Dahl, R. A. (2000). On democracy (1st ed.). Yale University Press.
Edler, J., Karaulova, M., & Barker, K. (2022). Understanding Conceptual Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Policy: The Role of Policymaking Conditions. Minerva, 60(2), 209–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-022-09459-8
Folguera, G. (2017). Tres desafíos para el vínculo entre ciudadanía, ciencia y democracia. Ludus Vitalis, 25(47), 231–234. https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/handle/11336/73050
Foltz, F. (1999). Five Arguments for increasing public participation in Making science policy. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 19(2), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/027046769901900206
Frank, W. (2007). Authority and the common good in democratic governance. Review of Metaphysics, 60(4), 813–832.
Funtowicz, S. O., & Ravetz, J. R. (1990). Uncertainty and quality in science for policy. Springer.
Graham, L. R. (1992). Big science in the last years of the big Soviet Union. Osiris, 7, 49–71. https://doi.org/10.1086/368705
Greenberg, D. S. (2001). Science, money, and politics: Political triumph and ethical erosion. University of Chicago Press.
Guston, D. H. (2000). Between politics and science: Assuring the integrity and productivity of research. Cambridge University Press.
Hilgartner, S. (2000). Science on stage: Expert advice as public drama. Stanford University Press.
Islami, M. Z., & Muthmainnah, L. (2023). The relationship between science And democracy on Philip Kitcher’s perspectives. Kanz Philosophia: A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism, 9(2), 263–292. https://doi.org/10.20871/kpjipm.v9i2.279
Jonsson, I., & Mósesdóttir, L. (2023). Techno-solutionism facing post-liberal oligarchy. In H. S. Sætra (Ed.), Technology and sustainable development: The promise and pitfalls of techno-solutionism (pp. 229–247). Routledge.
Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi, Sains, dan Teknologi. (2025, April 29). Aktualisasi Kampus Berdampak sebagai keberlanjutan Kampus Merdeka. https://kemdiktisaintek.go.id/kabar-dikti/kabar/aktualisasi-kampus-berdampak-sebagai-keberlanjutan-kampus-merdeka/
Kitcher, P. (2011). Science in a democratic society. In W. J. Gonzalez (Ed.), Scientific realism and democratic society: The philosophy of Philip Kitcher (pp. 95–112). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401207355_003
Koliba, C. (2025). Liberal democratic accountability standards and public administration. Public Administration Review, 85(1), 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13831
Kurtulmuş, F. (2021). The democratization of science. In F. Kurtulmuş (Ed.), Global epistemologies and philosophies of science. Routledge.
Latour, B. (2004). Politics of nature: How to bring the sciences into democracy. Harvard University Press.
Longino, H. E. (2002). The fate of knowledge. Princeton University Press.
Macháček, V., & Srholec, M. (2022). Predatory publishing in Scopus: Evidence on cross-country differences. Quantitative Science Studies, 3(3), 859–887. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00213
Macrae, D. (1973). Science and the formation of policy in a democracy. Minerva, 11(2), 228–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01107884
Marques, M., Macasaet, B. T., Powell, J. J. W., Dusdal, J., & Baker, D. P. (2025). Scientizing the world: On mechanisms and outcomes of the institutionalization of science. Science and Public Policy, 52(4), 491–502. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scae095
McGarity, T. O. (2012). Bending science: How special interests corrupt public health research. Harvard University Press.
Merton, R. K. (1979). The Sociology of science: Theoretical and empirical investigations (N. W. Storer, Ed.). The University of Chicago Press.
Moynihan, D., & Herd, P. (2025). Institutionalizing politicized science. Science, 388(6748), 683. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady6128
Müller-Rommel, F., & Geißel, B. (2020). Introduction: Perspectives on democracy. Politische Vierteljahresschrift, 61(2), 225–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-020-00252-4
Pamuk, Z. (2021). Politics and expertise: How to use science in a democratic society. Princeton University Press.
Panofsky, A. L. (2010). A critical reconsideration of the ethos and autonomy of science. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), Robert K. Merton: Sociology of science and sociology as science (pp. 140–163). Columbia University Press.
Prutsch, M. J. (2019). “Working numbers”—Introductory remarks. In M. J. Prutsch (Ed.), Science, numbers and politics (pp. 1–17). Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
Rabkin, Y. M., & Mirskaya, E. Z. (2003). Science and totalitarianism: Lessons for the twenty-first century. In M. Walker (Ed.), Science and ideology (pp. 17–34). Routledge.
Radder, H. (2017). Which scientific knowledge is a common good? Social Epistemology, 31(5), 431–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2017.1353656
Reber, B. (2018). RRI as the inheritor of deliberative democracy and the precautionary principle. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5(1), 38–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2017.1331097
Reeve, C., & Collingridge, D. (1986). Science and policy–Why the marriage is so unhappy. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 6(4), 356–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/027046768600600405
Rogers, K. (2008). Participatory democracy, science and technology: An exploration in the philosophy of science. Palgrave Macmillan London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230594142
Salomon, J.-J. (2000). Science, technology and democracy. Minerva, 38(1), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1026552331409
Samaržija, S. (2016). The division of epistemic labor in democracy. Anali Hrvatskog Politiloškog Društva, 12, 67–81. https://doi.org/10.20901/an.12.05
Schroeder, S. A. (2021). Democratic values: A better foundation for public trust in science. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 72(2), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axz023
Schroeder, S. A. (2022). The limits of democratizing science: When scientists should ignore the public. Philosophy of Science, 89(5), 1034–1043. https://doi.org/10.1017/psa.2022.54
Sheehan, H. (2007). Marxism and science studies: A sweep through the decades. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 21(2), 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590701498126
Stenmark, L. (2013). Religion, science, and democracy: A disputational friendship. Lexington Books.
Stenmark, M. (1997). What is scientism? Religious Studies, 33(1), 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412596003666
Stiglitz, J. E. (1999). Knowledge as a global public good. In I. Kaul, I. Grunberg, & M. Stern (Eds.), Global public goods: International cooperation in the 21st century (pp. 308–325). Oxford University Press.
Stilgoe, J., Owen, R., & Macnaghten, P. (2013). Developing a framework for responsible innovation. Research Policy, 42(9), 1568–1580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.05.008
Tegegn, D. A. (2024). The role of science and technology in reconstructing human social history: Effect of technology change on society. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2356916
Turner, S. (2001). What is the problem with experts? Social Studies of Science, 31(1), 123–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631201031001007
Vasquez-Muriel, D., & Escobar-Ortiz, J. M. (2022). Does democratizing access to science imply democratizing science? A case study of non-corporate Spanish-speaking science YouTubers. Journal of Science Communication, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.22323/2.21030202
Vinck, D. (2010). The sociology of scientific work: The fundamental relationship between science and society. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Weinberg, J., & Elliott, K. C. (2012). Science, expertise, and democracy. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 22(2), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.2012.0006
Weingart, P. (1983). Verwissenschaftlichung der Gesellschaft—Politisierung der Wissenschaft. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 12(3), 225–241. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfsoz-1983-0303
Younger-Khan, S., Weidmann, N. B., & Oswald, L. (2024). Consistent effects of science and scientist characteristics on public trust across political regimes. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1379. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03909-2
Yuliantoro, M. N. (2016). Ilmu dan kapital: Sosiologi ilmu pengetahuan Pierre Bourdieu. Kanisius.
Zack, N. (2018). Philosophy of race: An introduction. Palgrave Macmillan.
Ziman, J. M. (1984). An introduction to science studies. Cambridge University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jf.100391
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 376
| 
views : 632
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jurnal Filsafat