Mistranslation of Uncertainties: From Epistemological Uncertainties to Legitimate Resilience Governance

This study examines how system resilience can be strained when governments define and mistranslate epistemological uncertainties into technical and managerial problems, using two comparative case studies of sociotechnical disasters (i.e., nuclear safety failure and pandemic digital surveillance). Drawing on Funtowicz and Ravetz’s post-normal science as a framework, the analysis introduces three types of uncertainties and conceptualizes the “mistranslation of uncertainties,” through which this research illuminates a structure whereby epistemic diversity is marginalized, and in turn, policy legitimacy deficits in implementation can be amplified, potentially eroding sociotechnical resilience. The article contributes to the field of sociotechnical resilience by (1) visualizing uncertainty mistranslation, which leads to a legitimacy deficit, (2) illustrating how mistranslation develops from a monolithic, technocentric understanding of uncertainties, and (3) proposing a framework of “resilience for legitimacy” that seeks to embed resilience work and co-production of responses within institutional practices. This research highlights how the co-production of epistemological translation and social order, encompassing deliberation and social feedback, can support democratic legitimacy and thereby resilient governance of sociotechnical systems.