by Sarah Brown, Journals Manager
Policy & Politics highlights collection on Policy Expertise in Times of Crisis: free to access from 1st May – 31 July 2024
Barely out of the media spotlight it seems, the role of experts in policymaking is as topical now as it was during the Covid-19 pandemic. So, we’re delighted to introduce our new special issue re-examining this hotly debated topic – Policy Expertise in Times of Crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic increased the focus on the relationship between experts and politicians. For example, health experts globally became engaged in new ways of exchanging knowledge where they recommended strategies for coping with the pandemic and gave advice to governments and citizens. New institutional structures for exchanging knowledge came about, organised around communities of expertise, advisory committees, public campaigns and the crisis management operations of state agencies. These have also been evident during other crises, such as climate change and specific economic and political crises.
In Western liberal democracies, politics and expertise are, ideally at least, seen as preconditions for each other. Here, experts provide knowledge and advice based on the latest research and politicians make decisions based on that expert advice. Experts are, in this view, neutral and unbiased, providing legitimacy to the policy process.
Continue reading