Accountability of Expertise: Making the Un-Elected Safe for Democracy

This book offers a new approach to ensuring the safety of un-elected bodies for democracy, reconciling the need for knowledge with democratic legitimacy. It establishes a public reason model of legitimacy and clarifies the conditions under which unelected bodies can be deemed legitimate when handling pandemics, financial crises, climate change, and migration flows.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 202 pages
Publication date: 27 July 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Based on extensive research into the interplay between expertise and democracy in Europe, this book offers a novel perspective on ensuring the safety of un-elected entities within democratic systems. It addresses the challenge of reconciling the modern government's requirement for knowledge with the demand for democratic legitimacy.

Knowledge-driven decision-making holds immense importance in contemporary democracies. This book establishes a public reason model of legitimacy and elucidates the circumstances under which un-elected bodies can be deemed legitimate when called upon to address pressing issues such as pandemics, financial crises, climate change, and migration flows. Expert bodies operate independently of re-election or public popularity, allowing them to speak truth to power and the broader citizenry. Despite their unelected status, they wield significant influence. How can these bodies be deemed legitimate?

This book holds significant appeal to scholars and students engaged in the study of democracy, governance, and related fields, including political science, administrative science, and Science Technology Studies (STS). It provides valuable insights into the dynamics between expertise and democracy and contributes to the ongoing discourse on the role of un-elected entities in shaping public policy and governance.

Weight: 342g
Dimension: 154 x 234 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032007601