Epistémická společenství a jejich role ve (světové) politice
Epistemic Communities and their Role in (World) Politics

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the concept of epistemic communities (EPCs). It introduces the different understandings of the term and takes Peter M. Haas’s definition as a starting point and guidance for further analysis. The purpose of the article is to map how EPCs emerge, evolve, and influence agenda-setting and decision-making processes. The conditions under which EPCs operate and assume a decisive role in the political process are investigated. The article positions the EPCs approach in the triangle debate framed by the so-called grand theories of international relations (neorealism, liberalism, and constructivism). Because of the quest for conceptual clarity, the relationship between EPCs and other actors engaged in the political process is examined. The following section focuses on the social construction of reality: the discursive practices of EPCs and their role in constituting the knowledge-power nexus. The subsequent part seeks to enrich the current methodology of the EPCs approach by addressing new directions of research. Then, the list of existing case studies is provided. Finally, the question of the sustainability of the EPCs-approach is discussed.

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