Abstract

This article analyses the relationship between expert knowledge and political decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark, Greece and the United States. Due to the swift spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe, the management of the pandemic required urgent government responses. Our empirical findings enabled us to identify a new typology of different types of advice, from naked power to technocracy, including in-between modes of networking and interactions. We also demonstrate how systemic and governance characteristics affect expert-politics responses in the three countries. The findings demonstrate similar responses in Greece and Denmark, by contrast with the United States. We conclude by proposing a new research agenda for expert-politician relations during crises, which focuses on the role of experts in public sensemaking, which is particularly important in an era of recurring and overlapping crises.
Translated title of the contributionEksperter i politik i krisesituationer
Original languageEnglish
JournalPolicy and Politics
Volume52
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)24-43
Number of pages20
ISSN0305-5736
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jan 2024

Keywords

  • experts
  • expertise
  • COVID-19
  • crisis management
  • politicisation
  • Denmark
  • Greece
  • US

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