ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how policymakers handle the knowledge dilemma using two case studies of nuclear reactor safety and flood management. The case of flooding showed how expected economic loss generated new knowledge. Specific attention is given to risk and hypothetical events that are introduced to anticipate and manage the fundamental ignorance of new risks. In the context of the "risk society," nuclear technology is a new risk, while flooding is an old one. In terms of safety, concerns about reliability emerged only after nuclear energy was made subject to regulation. The process of internalization means that risk management focuses less on the actual risk than on the risks related to risk management. The chapter shows how specific hypothetical tools have been developed to ensure an institutionally flexible, adaptive process of knowledge management. Hypothetical events provided another possibility to flexibly adapt the management of non-knowledge to managerial needs.
