Whose knowledge counts? Knowledge mobilization and legitimation in environmental conflicts

This paper questions the post-political hypothesis that top-down mobilization of expert knowledge leads to depoliticization. For two case studies of environmental conflicts in Brussels, it analyzes how knowledge is also mobilized from below and emphasizes that neither politicization nor depoliticization is guaranteed. Developing an analytical framework to study knowledge politics, our analysis illuminates how both top-down and bottom-up politics of knowledge production, brokerage and dissemination politicize and depoliticize urban environmental issues in Brussels. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of knowledge in environmental politics and shows that knowledge and power are related in intricate ways.