When the Boundary Arrangement Doesn‘t Fit the Problem Structure
Indirect land use change (ILUC) induced by the mass production of biofuels is currently one of the most contested aspects of the European Union's (EU) biofuel policy. Starting from a definition of ILUC and its classification as a wicked problem, we investigate the EU’s ILUC science-policy boundary arrangement in order to analyse whether it fits the problem struc-ture or not. We find that, even though considerable boundary work has been done, the boundary arrangement remains designed as if ILUC was a purely technical problem to be dealt with behind closed doors. After deliberating the causes for this misfit between problem structure and boundary arrangement, we argue that the policy-making strategy (decision-making on the basis of the best-available scientific evidence) provokes an (over)politicization of science or an ‘excess of objectivity’ on ILUC as well as a depoliticiza-tion of the underlying conflicts.
