‘Non-knowledge’ in contemporary public policy: amnesia, ignorance and misinformation

The uses (and abuses) of knowledge and evidence have long been core objects of study in public policy. However, more recent literature has begun to investigate challenges and forms of ‘non-knowledge’ that are not fully captured by orthodox understandings of knowledge and evidence use. Generally inspired by work in sociology and other social sciences, these studies focus on phenomena such as amnesia, ignorance, and misinformation. Each category refers not simply to the absence of policy-relevant knowledge. Amnesia refers to what is forgotten, reinvented, or ‘unlearned’, while claims of ignorance involve obscuring or casting aside of relevant knowledge that could (or even should) be available. To be misinformed is to actively believe false or misleading information. In each instance, non-knowledge may have strategic value for policy actors or aid the pursuit of self-interest. In this chapter, we seek to draw links between these phenomena and the broader study of knowledge in public policy, and outline challenges and potential solutions for scholars seeking to investigate them.