Chancen und Risiken externen Sachverstandes in den Verwaltungsverfahren der Wissensgesellschaft

Abstract

What are the opportunities and risks of using external expertise in the administrative procedures of the knowledge society? The constitution demands that the state acts according to rational standards. The administration may, therefore, not completely ‘outsource’ the process of gaining the necessary knowledge to private actors, but has to adopt this knowledge as its own – even where it relies on such external expertise. The considerable opportunities that external expertise offers have to be used in a structured and regulated way that contains their significant risks in a manner consistent with the constitutional responsibility for rational administrative action. This requires paying attention not only to the justifications of decisions but also to its production. It requires deepening our important knowledge about the boundaries of knowledge, about ignorance and uncertainty, as well. To face these challenges seems all the more indispensable in times when the idea of knowledge itself is under heavy attack by “post-truth” or “post-factual” political strategies.