Expertise and Democracy — Challenges from Within and Without

When we are called to act under uncertainty, in moments of crises, wise choices and high-quality information are required. Experts are called for in decision-making generally, especially in modern bureaucratic and technocratic settings. Yet the dilemma inherent in the tension between expertisation and democracy sharpens in the light of emergencies. Given the number of crises that are said to characterise our time – linked to climate, health, economy, migration, education and more, including democracy itself – the arguments for and against granting experts a large role in policy-making and public debate ought to be revisited, as well as assumptions made concerning the nature and role of the expertise available to those who universities daily form and rely on in providing policy advice. Experts may be shrewd political advisors or unheard Cassandras, as well as increasingly themselves also decision-makers in delegated roles. The blurring of genres raises questions relating to trust, representation, delegation, professionalism, and democratic ethos. How should democrats think about expertise and its societal role to avoid the twin pitfalls of ungrounded choices and auto-induced tutelage? Our aim is to assess and reflect on the role of experts in democracy against the backdrop of this understanding of the normative ambiguity of expert knowledge, in the midst of a number of societal crises. To do so with an eye to policy-making in the EU seems particularly relevant, because of the prominence on the agenda of issues in which expert knowledge plays a key role (e.g. climate, migration, economy and more).

Registration here (no later than March 14)

Speakers include (in order of appearance):

Mattias Martinsson, Deputy Vice Rector of Humanities and Social Sciences (opening remarks)

Sofia Näsström, Uppsala University (moderator)

Daniel Innerarity, Ikerbasque Foundation for Science, UPV/EHU, Globernance & European University Institute (EUI)
Power and Knowledge: The Available Certainties for Political Decision-making

Joe Roussos, Institute for Future Studies
Scientific norms for managing disagreement in research and public advising

Eri Bertsou, University of St. Gallen
Introducing the ‘Varieties of Expertise’ project: What do citizens consider to be “politically legitimate” uses of expertise and how do they evaluate “independent experts”

Marco Goldoni, School of Law, University of Glasgow
From Neutrality to Efficiency: The Constitutional Transformation of EU banking institutions

Johan Christensen, Leiden University Expertise, Policy-making and Democracy