Responding to Crises—Worries About Expertization

Abstract

The chapter discusses challenges arising from the growing role of experts and expert knowledge in policymaking. It identifies a series of distinguishable epistemic and democratic worries about “expertization.” Examples are drawn from EU governance, in particular economy policy and debates over EU’s democratic deficits. It is argued that worries about larger expert influence on EU policymaking should be taken seriously, and that several of the listed problems have become more urgent in a time when the Union faces multiple crises. Still, good governance requires significant amounts of expert input. The solution thus is not to debunk expertise, but to organize and institutionalize expert arrangements in better ways. The chapter suggests a reform approach and takes up implications for different scenarios of EU integration.