The epistemic quality of expert bodies

From normative-theoretical concept to empirical measurement

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9537644
AutoresCathrine Holst (0000-0002-2231-5826, University of Oslo, autor correspondente), Johan Christensen (0000-0002-2582-7827, Leiden University)
Ano2024
Volume59
Fascículo4
Páginas822-846
Data de publicação2024-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoActa Politica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0001-6810 • E-ISSN: 1741-1416
EditoraSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/s41269-023-00312-8
OpenAlexW4386100141
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas54

The ubiquity of experts in contemporary policy-making has been met with enthusiasm in some quarters, but has also faced severe criticism. Beyond the democratic concerns regarding expert power, critics have raised worries about whether experts actually contribute to increasing the epistemic quality of policies, in line with normative expectations. Yet, so far, limited attention has been paid to the specific conditions under which experts involved in policy-making are likely to live up to such expectations. The article outlines a set of such conditions and empirically examines their fulfillment in the case of a real-world expert body. The article contributes theoretically to normative political theory about the proper role of expertise in policy-making; methodologically by linking normative theorizing and empirical analysis; and empirically through a longitudinal analysis based on large-n data of the extent to which the expert body under scrutiny satisfies a set of quantifiable empirical indicators of the proposed conditions

Comparative politics · Criticism · Economics · Empirical research · Enthusiasm · Epistemology · Normative · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Quality (philosophy · Scrutiny · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Computer Science · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Policy Transfer and Learning · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Psychology · Social Psychology