Page 73 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

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44 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

expressed in keywords (Podgórecki, 1996), sociotechnical knowledge while competing
which were later developed further in sociotechnical experts were put to the test by
Podgórecki and Shields (1989: 15–31): new socio-political dynamics. Influential
social actors endorsed some experts; others
● problem recognition, were promoted by their own scientific commu-
● problem identification (clarification and ranking nity (Podgórecki, 1996). These developments
of values and goals), reinforced Podgórecki’s belief in a sociotech-
● global evaluation (initial diagnosis of cause, nical tradition that aimed at equipping
prognosis, teleological decision), common people with steering capabilities
● activation of the theory base (strategy, accessible
options), to advance social projects on the basis of
● design, scientifically backed means. Yet, they also
● action (experiments, implementation of final contributed to an appreciation of the
plan) and complexities surrounding interventions in a
● evaluation. field of actors, who have diverse understand-
ings of the problems they address. This was
An innovation with respect to an earlier made especially clear by the post-communist
framework formulated by Zetterberg (1962) realities, whereby the long suppressed ideo-
was the choice to include investigation of the logical and other conflicts emerged with
‘relationship between the values of a client, a unexpected and sometimes destructive
sponsor, an expert and the public in general’ vigour.
(Podgórecki, 1983: 35). Underlying the para- It is necessary to remember Podgórecki’s
digm of sociotechnics was a belief in modern warnings about utopian sociotechnics. They
policy as based on well-defined values and were rooted in the totalitarian experience of
the possibility of reaching a scientifically twentieth century Europe. As history has
based consensus about the consequences shown, the dangers of utopian designs
of different strategies, as Weber believed aiming at transforming social structures to fit
(1922), and in rational decision-making, as a ‘scientific’ blueprint are immense. Even
outlined by Lindblom (1968). The assump- when the goals seem progressive and legiti-
tion of rational decision-making was a prob- mate, an imposed utopia represents a threat
lematic aspect, however. Maria Los pointed to the vital interests and integrity of local
out that both diagnostics and the range of society. To exemplify this, Podgórecki
possibilities for action were inseparably referred to a study conducted by Massell
linked to politics (Los, 1978: 18–25), and (1974), which concerned the revolutionary
David Mills suggested that the significance strategy to emancipate women in the Muslim
of the manner in which actors defined communities of the Soviet Central Asia in
problems was being overlooked in the contri- 1919–1929. The hidden goal was to penetrate
butions by Zetterberg (1962), Lazersfeld tightly-knit Muslim society and undermine it
and Reitz (1975), and Podgórecki (1975) from within. This intervention resulted in a
(Mills, 1981). worsening situation for the local women. The
Podgórecki was strongly influenced by the lessons derived from the totalitarian past
experiences of Poland before, during and have to be kept in mind as a reminder of a
after the breakdown of the communist negative potential of grand designs and the
regime. This transformation of the political need for a realistic sociological understand-
system represented a dual development, ing of the context in which the intervention is
whereby a top-down social engineering tradi- taking place.
tion was confronted with a bottom-up The newsletter discussions in the first
approach and, eventually, the emergence of decade of RC26 mirror a growing concern
Solidarnosc as a competing political actor. about the dilemma faced by sociological
Different actors used the accumulated experts when confronted with conflicting