Explaining the legitimizing function of expert knowledge
How France got away with pain in farm animals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12722011 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vincent Caby (UCLouvain, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | French Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1476-3427 • E-ISSN: 1476-3419 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41253-020-00142-6 |
| OpenAlex | W3120882089 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
Scholars have long investigated connections between types of knowledge use and types of policy subsystem. Yet, most of them focus on the learning function of expert information. The legitimizing function of knowledge—when expertise serves as a substitute for decision (Boswell in J Eur Public Policy 15(4):471–488, 2008)—has attracted less attention. An empirically validated explanation of this function is still missing. This article tests existing hypotheses regarding which features of the subsystem are conducive to the legitimizing function. The demonstration rests upon a case study: France’s Ministry of Agriculture’s commissioning of INRA to carry out a systematic literature review on pain in farm animals. Two types of factors are involved in the legitimizing function of knowledge: environmental mechanisms (an adversarial policy subsystem, concentration of policy authority) and relational mechanisms (coalitions displaying epistemic uncertainty and exerting pressures on the source of policy authority, a policy broker mitigating the conflict between the two coalitions)
Adversarial system · Function (biology · Policy learning · Political science · Public policy · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
Using social research in public policy making
Sustainability
Content analysis and thematic analysis
Policy change and learning
Case Studies and Causal Inference
Des expertises scientifiques crédibles en appui à la décision et au débat publics. Retour d’expérience sur les ESCo de l’Inra
Expert‐Based Information and Policy Subsystems
Explaining Differences in Scientific Expertise Use
Evaluation Strategies and Analysis of the Policy Process
Son of Seven Sexes
The Political Impact of Technical Expertise
Awareness and use of systematic literature reviews and meta‐analyses by ministerial policy analysts
The Many Meanings of Research Utilization
Adaptive management and adaptive governance in the everglades ecosystem
The political use of knowledge in the policy process
The Politics of Attention
Measuring policy learning
The political functions of expert knowledge
Coalitions, Science, and Belief Change
Sharpening Advocacy Coalitions
Why advocacy coalitions matter and practical insights about them
The Politics of Attention
The Politics of Blame Avoidance
The role of knowledge in the policy process
The Usage of Scientific Knowledge by Independent Regulatory Agencies
Mechanisms in Political Processes
Rationalising the Policy Mess? Ex Ante Policy Assessment and the Utilisation of Knowledge in the Policy Process
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |