What Is the Social Responsibility of Social Scientists to Influence National Security Affairs?
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X20917183 |
Published date | 01 January 2023 |
Date | 01 January 2023 |
Subject Matter | Symposium: National Security and Social Science |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X20917183
Armed Forces & Society
2023, Vol. 49(1) 7 –19
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X20917183
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Symposium: National Security and Social Science
1134644AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X20917183Armed Forces & SocietyLevy
research-article2020
What Is the Social
Responsibility of Social
Scientists to Influence
National Security
Affairs?
Yagil Levy
1
Abstract
Mainstream scholars of IR favor policy-relevant research, that is the agenda to
influence government policymakers by offering policy recommendations. In this
article, I offer a different perspective by presenting alternative arguments about
social scientists’ responsibility to influence. By drawing on themes of public sociology
and critical sociology, security studies and public policy, I argue that the core of this
responsibility is to seek to influence policy via engagement with the public rather
than with policymakers.
Keywords
public policy, democracy, deliberation, critical sociology, public sociology
In his insightful book, Cult of the Irrelevant, Michael Desch (2019) assumes that
scholars (he refers to the United States) should aspire to influence government policy
makers by offering policy recommendations. He assumes rather than argues, and
1
Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University of Israel, Raanana,
Israel
Corresponding Author:
Yagil Levy, Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University of Israel,
P.O. Box 808, Raanana 43107, Israel.
Emails: yagille@openu.ac.il; yagil.levy@gmail.com
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