Zlatý české ručičky and Technocracy in the Reintroduction of Trolleybuses in Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract In recent debates around the concept of technocracy, the issues of “technology” and “skill” ( tekhne ) and “power” ( kratos ) have been absent, even though the combination of these words defines the term. To address the issue of tekhne , I draw on Thorsten Veblen's theoretical justification of the epistemic differences between engineers and financiers. For kratos , I invoke the anarchist critique of authority. The theoretical argument presented in this article claims that epistemic superiority lies in the procedures of knowledge production. Epistemological issues taken as algorithms in the nexus with bureaucratic mechanisms of execution demand a specific type of knowledge. Empirical observations from the reopening of a trolleybus system in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, show that local engineers have formulated this agenda and that the Czech tradition of electrical engineering in the transport sector plays a crucial role. In turn, the existing procedures for the execution of transportation-related agendas allow engineers to realize their vision for decarbonizing a diesel bus fleet.