Crisis expertise beyond 'Global North' democracies

Organised by

• Department of Economics
• Department of History
• Department of Law
• Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies
• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• Department of Political and Social Sciences
• Florence School of Transnational Governance
• Central Coordination Unit
• Crisis of Expert Knowledge and Authority

The power of expert knowledge in shaping politics and public opinion becomes most tangible in times of uncertainty. Transboundary financial, security and health related crises suggest that this is equally true for West European and North American democratic societies and for societies beyond the "Global North", regardless of the countries’ political regimes. In consolidated liberal democracies, the questions of how expert knowledge is produced and communicated have been studied extensively. However, we still know little about the origins and contents of crisis related expert knowledge, its communication channels, and use in policymaking beyond political environments of the "Global North". To whom do politicians and other decision-makers turn for guidance when they are in need of specialized expertise? How do they use (and misuse) expert knowledge in times of crisis? How much influence do individual experts and expert groups have on political agendas and societal developments? Finally, how are experts themselves affected by high uncertainty? Dr Vera Axyonova will shed light on these questions against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Links:

• Crisis expertise beyond 'Global North' democracies recording