The Contestation of Expertise in the European Union

250 Pages·2020·2.434 MB·English

by  Vigjilenca Abazi, Johan Adriaensen, Thomas Christiansen

EUROPEAN ADMINISTRATIVE GOVERNANCE
The Contestation of
Expertise in the
European Union
Edited by
Vigjilenca Abazi · Johan Adriaensen
Thomas Christiansen
European Administrative Governance
Series Editors
Thomas Christiansen
Luiss University
Rome, Italy
Sophie Vanhoonacker
Maastricht University
Maastricht, The Netherlands
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· ·
Vigjilenca Abazi Johan Adriaensen
Thomas Christiansen
Editors
The Contestation
of Expertise
in the European
Union
Editors
Vigjilenca Abazi Johan Adriaensen
Faculty of Law Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Maastricht University Maastricht University
Maastricht, Limburg Maastricht, Limburg
The Netherlands The Netherlands
Thomas Christiansen
Department of Political Science
Luiss University
Rome, Lazio
Italy
ISSN 2524-7263 ISSN 2524-7271 (electronic)
European Administrative Governance
ISBN 978-3-030-54366-2 ISBN 978-3-030-54367-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021
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Preface
ThepublicdebatesbeforeandaftertheUK’sreferendumonitsmember-
ship of the European Union, the persistent denial in some quarters
of climate change, as well as the lead-up to and fall-out from Donald
Trump’s election as U.S. President have revealed a growing distrust
towards experts. Calling into question the authority of those who invoke
expertise is, however, not a recent phenomenon. Decisions concerning
the use of genetically modified organisms and chemicals such glyphosate,
compulsoryvaccinationpoliciesorthewisdomofdifferenteconomicpoli-
cies and their social impact have often triggered heated political debate.
Yetthescaleandveracitybywhichsuchcontestationofexpertisehasbeen
takingplaceinrecentyearsisunprecedented.Moreover,thisdevelopment
has a direct implications for the scientific community whose members
derive their authority from expertise. Not only does it raise questions
regardingtheroleacademicsmayhaveplayedincontributingtotheback-
lash we are observing, but also about the manner in which societies cope
with the changing environment in which we operate. Is it possible for
scholars to reclaim the authority expertise once held? And, perhaps more
importantly, should this be aspired?
These questions were paramount in our minds when we decided to
focus on the contestation of expertise as the theme for the 2017 annual
conferenceoftheCentreofEuropeanResearchinMaastricht(CERiM)—
aJeanMonnetCentreofExcellenceatMaastrichtUniversity.Theconfer-
ence brought together an international group of scholars to debate these
v
vi PREFACE
issues,andthepresentvolumeemergedfromthisconference.Inlinewith
the different disciplinary backgrounds of the editors, and the nature of
the work of CERiM more generally, the book takes a multidisciplinary
approach to the issue and offers contributions from (international) law,
political science and public administration. Focusing on developments at
the national, European and international level, the book provides a range
ofstudiesonthemannerinwhichexpertiseiscontested,andonthepolicy
responses it has triggered.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support we received from
Maastricht University and from the Erasmus+ programme of the Euro-
pean Commission that provided the necessary funds to host this confer-
ence and thereby also helped to make this book possible. We are deeply
grateful to Prof. Ellen Vos, the Co-Director of CERIM at the time,
who supported the organisation of the conference and subsequently
contributedtotheconceptionofthebook.Aboveall,weareindebttoall
contributorstothisvolumeforentrustingtheirworktousandremaining
patient and committed throughout the editing process.
We had tremendous support from the beginning and throughout the
process from Jemima Warren and Oliver Foster at Palgrave Macmillan, as
well as from our colleague and series editor, Prof. Sophie Vanhoonacker.
Furthermore, we are grateful for the diligent and reliable support we
received from Shelly Tsui, Jonah Thompson and Giulia Gallinella in the
organisation of the initial conference, in the research assistance provided
duringtheeditingprocessandinthepreparationofthebookmanuscript,
respectively.
As always, the publication of an edited volume has relied on support
and input from many individuals, and we are pleased that we have been
able to bring this process to a successful conclusion. If anything, the
contestation of expertise has become even more fierce during the time
that has passed since the inception of this book, and we therefore hope
thereaderswillfinditavaluablecontributiontotheliteratureinthefield.
Copenhagen, Denmark Vigjilenca Abazi
Maastricht, The Netherlands Johan Adriaensen
Rome, Italy Thomas Christiansen
November 2019
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Vigjilenca Abazi, Johan Adriaensen,
and Thomas Christiansen
2 Conceptualising the Role of Expertise in EU
Policy-Making 21
Tannelie Blom
3 The Europeanization of National Knowledge Regimes 47
Johan Christensen and Cathrine Holst
4 Winning Hearts, Losing Minds: Politicisation
and the Contestation of Expertise in the Context
of TTIP Negotiations 67
Francesca Colli and Bart Kerremans
5 The European Commission’s Expert Groups:
Adapting to the Contestation of Expertise 91
Elissaveta Radulova, Johanna Breuer,
and Aneta Spendzharova
vii
viii CONTENTS
6 The Role of Expertise in the EU’s Emerging
Diplomatic System 123
Tannelie Blom and Sophie Vanhoonacker
7 Climate Science in the Courts 145
Marjan Peeters
8 Judicial Review of Science-Based Measures Under
WTO Law 173
Lukasz Gruszczynski
9 Contesting Concentrated Scientific Power: The Case
of the European Commission’s Chief Scientific Adviser 201
Shelly Tsui
10 Conclusion: The Contestation of Expertise in the EU 223
Vigjilenca Abazi, Johan Adriaensen,
and Thomas Christiansen
Index 237
Notes on Contributors
Vigjilenca Abazi is Assistant Professor at Faculty of Law, Maastricht
University, The Netherlands.
Johan Adriaensen is Assistant Professor at University Maastricht, Maas-
tricht University, The Netherlands.
Tannelie Blom is Professor of European Studies at University Maas-
tricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Johanna Breuer is Ph.D. researcher at the European University Insti-
tute, Florence, Italy.
Johan Christensen is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public
Administration, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Thomas Christiansen is Professor of Political Science and European
Integration at Luiss University, Rome, Italy.
Francesca Colli isAssistantProfessorinEuropeanStudiesattheFaculty
of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), Maastricht University. This work
was completed during a Ph.D. fellowship at Leuven International and
European Studies (LINES), KU Leuven.
Lukasz Gruszczynski is an Associate Professor of International Law at
Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland.
ix