The role of scientific expertise in policy making is not a new phenomenon. What is new is the increasing visibility of scientific expertise in policy making. The presentation will discuss the notion of visibility, exploring its implications for democratic governance, particularly transparency and accountability.
The presentation will discuss the notion of visibility, exploring its implications for democratic governance, particularly transparency and accountability.
It questions whether this visibility enhances democracy or blurs the lines between expertise and political authority, thereby undermining trust in both government and science.
The visibility of scientific expertise in policy making constitutes a deliberate government strategy that serves purposes beyond rational decision-making. It aims to transfer legitimacy from science to politics, shaping public perception of policy issues and decision-making processes. It therefore selectively highlights certain aspects of government operations to project a positive image of government decision-making. This visibility strategy, often associated with transparency and accountability, seeks to create a shared understanding of complex policy issues and foster public acceptance of government decisions. However, it can inadvertently re-politicise policy issues and create (institutional) confusion between scientific expertise and policy perspectives.
Speaker bio:
Calliope Spanou is a professor of administrative science (Public administration) at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, where she has taught since 1989. She holds a Doctorat d’Etat in Political Science from the University of Picardy (Amiens), France.
In 2025, while on sabbatical, she was a Simone Veil fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre, EUI. She has held teaching and research fellowships with the following institutions: Fondation de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme -Laboratoire CEVIPOF /Sciences Po, Paris (2018), University of Paris II (1996) and University of Paris-Versailles (1996), the RSCAS-EUI. (2016), Freie Universität, Berlin (2024).
During her professional career, she has also held official positions such as Minister (caretaker) of the Interior (2023 May-June), Ombudsman of Greece (2011 – 2015) and Deputy Ombudsman (2003 – 2011). For many years, she has also cooperated as an external advisor with the OECD (GOV & SIGMA) for administrative reforms in various countries.
Her research interests include administrative and civil service reform, public policy, democratic governance, citizen-administrative relations, europeanisation. Currently, she works on the scientisation of public administration and public policy.
She has published in French, English, German and Greek. Her latest publications include ‘The Swing of the Pendulum: EU Narratives in Greece in a Time of Crisis’, in Hussein Kassim and Adriaan Schout (eds.) National Government Narratives of the EU. ‘Official Stories’ of Belonging, Palgrave Macmillan 2024; (ed.) Crisis, Reform and the Way Forward in Greece. A turbulent decade, London: Routledge 2022; Which reforms? Governing under external pressure, Patakis 2021 (in Greek).
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