Johan Christensen

Cathrine Holst

Anders Molander

This book offers a concise and accessible introduction to debates about expertise, policy-making and democracy. It uniquely combines an overview of recent research on the policy role of experts with discussions in political philosophy and the philosophy of expertise. Starting with the fact that well-functioning democracies require experts and expert knowledge, the book examines two types of objections against granting experts a larger role in policy-making: concerns that focus on the nature and limits of expert knowledge, and those that concentrate on tensions between expertization and democracy. With this, the book discusses how expert arrangements can be organized to ensure the epistemic qualities of policies and democratic credentials, at the same time. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of political theory and democracy, public policy and administration, and to anyone interested in the role of expertise in society.

Expertise, Policy-making and Democracy

Magdalena Góra

Marta Warat

Expertisation and Democracy in Europe provides a much-needed account of the role and re-organisation of expertise and expert knowledge in Europe and the European Union in a broad range of policy spheres, contributing to the debate triggered by the recent crises. It brings novel perspectives to debates on technocracy and our understanding of the relations between knowledge, experts and democracy. The book explores and assesses new and old linkages between knowledge, expertise and democracy, and expands and deepens the current debates by addressing questions such as: What is the role of expertise in Europe? How is knowledge of different kinds embedded in and decisive for democratic practice in contemporary democracies? How are we to assess recent transformations of the expert-citizens and government-civil society relationships from the perspective of democracy, and which paths are viable in the years to come? Finally, the book engages with and gives flesh to the notion of expertisation not only as a broad political and societal diagnosis, but also as a multidimensional and deeply contested process that enfolds in concrete practices and institutional settings. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of European studies, European and European Union politics, democracy, public policy, international relations, sociology, gender studies and media studies.

Expertisation and Democracy in Europe

Feminism, Epistemology & Morality

Hva er feminisme

Critique is the art of making judgments about something with reference to some standards. The question then arises: which standards? When we criticize a claim about state of affairs, a norm or a piece of art, on the basis of what do we do so? Which are our yardsticks? This book is presenting, discussing and assessing, from various perspectives, how feminists have approached such questions. The first part of the dissertation takes up the challenge posed by feminist epistemology. Feminist epistemologists question prevalent ideas of objectivity and good science. How have they done this? And are their claims well-founded? The second part takes a closer look at the meta-debates going on in contemporary Scandinavian feminism, exemplified by an analysis of some recent debates among Norwegian feminists. The third and final part of the dissertation addresses three concerns in feminist debates on the meaning of critique: the relationship between feminism and moral universalism, feminism and equality, and feminism and the public-private division. The book addresses graduate students and researchers and other audiences with an advanced interest in feminist theory, political philosophy and philosophy of science.

Cathrine Holst

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