Abstract
Decision-making in the European Union is often characterized as technocratic and depoliticized. But has European integration also increased the role of experts and expertise in national policy-making? The chapter addresses this issue by developing a theoretical argument about the interaction between the ‘knowledge regimes’ at the European and national levels. It argues that national institutions for the provision of knowledge and advice may adapt to the knowledge architecture at the EU level, through pressure from EU-level institutions, imitation and expert networks. Yet, there are also mechanisms that work towards continued variation, such as institutional complementarities and path dependence. The chapter discusses mechanisms of adaptation or continued divergence within four institutional sites: expert agencies; advisory bodies and consultation mechanisms; parliamentary expertise; and research and education policy and institutions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
There may of course also be transversal Links, such as between the policy-making regime at the EU level and the production regime at the national level. For the sake of simplicity, these links are not examined or depicted here.
References
Arras, Sarah, and Caelesta Braun. “Stakeholders Wanted! Why and How European Union Agencies Involve Non-state Stakeholders.” Journal of European Public Policy 25, no. 9 (2018): 1257–1275.
Bauer, Michael W., and Jarle Trondal. The Palgrave Handbook of the European Administrative System. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Beyers, Jan, and Bart Kerremans. “Critical Resource Dependencies and The Europeanization of Domestic Interest Groups.” Journal of European Public Policy 14, no. 3 (2007): 460–481.
Bouwen, Pieter. “Corporate Lobbying in the European Union: The Logic of Access.” Journal of European Public Policy 9, no. 3 (2002): 365–390.
Campbell, John L., and Ove K. Pedersen. The National Origins of Policy Ideas. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Campbell, John L., and Ove K. Pedersen. “Policy Ideas, Knowledge Regimes and Comparative Political Economy.” Socio-Economic Review 13, no. 4 (2015): 679–701.
Christensen, Johan. “Recruitment and Expertise in the European Commission.” West European Politics 38, no. 3 (2015): 649–678.
Christensen, Johan. “Economic Knowledge and the Scientization of Policy Advice.” Policy Sciences 51, no. 3 (2018): 291–311.
Christensen, Johan, and Cathrine Holst. “Advisory Commissions, Academic Expertise and Democratic Legitimacy: The Case of Norway.” Science and Public Policy 44, no. 6 (2017): 821–833.
Craft, Jonathan, and John Halligan. “Assessing 30 years of Westminster Policy Advisory System Experience.” Policy Sciences 50, no. 1 (2017): 47–62.
Crum, Ben, and John E. Fossum. “The Multi-Level Parliamentary Field: A Framework for Theorizing Representative Democracy in the EU.” European Political Science Review 1, no. 2 (2009): 249–271.
De la Porte, Caroline, and Arjen Van Dalen. “Europeanization of National Public Spheres? Cross-national Media Debates About the European Union’s Socio-economic Strategy.” European Politics and Society 17, no. 3 (2015): 279–293.
DiMaggio, Paul J., and Walter W. Powell. “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields.” American Sociological Review 48, no. 2 (1983): 147–160.
Egeberg, Morten, and Jarle Trondal. “Why Strong Coordination at One Level of Government is Incompatible with Strong Coordination Across Levels (and How to Live with it): The Case of the European Union.” Public Administration 94, no. 3 (2016): 579–592.
Exadaktylos, Theofanis, and Claudio Radaelli. Looking for Causality in the Literature on Europeanization: Research Design in European Studies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Fischer, Frank. Democracy & Expertise: Reorienting Policy Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Gornitzka, Åse, and Julia Metz. “Dynamics of Institution-building in the Europe of Knowledge: The Birth of the European Research Council.” In Building the Knowledge Economy in Europe, edited by Meng-Hsuan Chou, and Åse Gornitzka. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2014.
Gornitzka, Åse, and Ulf Sverdrup. “Who Consults? The Configuration of Expert Groups in the European Union.” West European Politics 31, no. 4 (2008): 725–750.
Hall, Peter A., and David Soskice. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Heclo, Hugh. Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden: From Relief to Income Maintenance. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
Holst, Cathrine, and Anders Molander. “Public Deliberation and the Fact of Expertise: Making Experts Accountable.” Social Epistemology 31, no. 3 (2017): 235–250.
Inderhaug, Erle. “En norsk likestillingsreform i EU.” In Europeisering av nordisk likestillingspolitikk, edited by Cathrine Holst, Hege Skjeie and Mari Teigen. Oslo: Gyldendal, 2018.
Klüver, Heike. “Europeanization of Lobbying Activities: When National Interest Groups Spill Over to the European Level.” Journal of European Integration 32, no. 2 (2010): 175–191.
Majone, Giandomenico. Regulating Europe. London: Routledge, 1996.
Mathieu, Emmanuelle. Regulatory Delegation in the European Union: Networks, Committees and Agencies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
Metz, Julia. The European Commission, Expert Groups, and the Policy Process. Demystifying Technocratic Governance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Meyer, John W., and Brian Rowan. “Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony.” American Journal of Sociology 83, no. 2 (1977): 340–363.
Olsen, Johan P. “The Many Faces of Europeanization.” Journal of Common Market Studies 40, no. 5 (2002): 921–952.
Olsen, Johan P. Governing Through Institution Building. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Pierson, Paul. “Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics.” American Political Science Review 94, no. 2 (2001), 251–267.
Radaelli, Claudio. ‘The Public Policy of the European Union: Whither Politics of Expertise?’ Journal of European Public Policy 6, no. 2 (1999): 757–774.
Radaelli, Claudio, Claire Dunlop, and Oliver Fritsch. “Narrating Impact Assessment in the European Union.” European Political Science 12, no. 4 (2013): 500–521.
Radaelli, Claudio, and Romain Pasquier. “Encounters with Europe: Concepts, Definitions, and Research Design.” Politik 3, no. 9 (2006): 1–29.
Rimkute, Dovile. “Organizational Reputation and Risk Regulation: The Effect of Reputational Threats on Agency Scientific Outputs.” Public Administration 96, no. 1 (2018): 70–83.
Rosén, Guria, and Silje H. Tørnblad. “How Does Expert Knowledge Travel Between EU Institutions? The case of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.” European Politics and Society 20, no. 1 (2018): 32–48.
Seibicke, Helena. “Europeisering av nordisk kvinnebevegelse”. In Europeisering av nordisk likestillingspolitikk, edited by Cathrine Holst, Hege Skjeie and Mari Teigen. Oslo: Gyldendal, 2019.
Scharpf, Fritz. Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Streeck, Wolfgang. “Rejoinder: On Terminology, Functionalism, (Historical) Institutionalism and Liberalization.” Socio-Economic Review 3, no. 3 (2005): 577–587.
Streeck, Wolfgang, and Kathleen Thelen. “Introduction: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies.” In Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies, edited by Wolfgang Streec, and Kathleen Thelen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Trenz, Hans-Jörg. Narrating European Society. London: Lexington Books, 2016.
Trondal, Jarle. “The Europeanisation of Research and Highed Education Policies: Some Reflections”, Scandinavian Political Studies 25, no. 4 (2001): 333–355.
Trondal, Jarle. An Emergent European Executive Order. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Vestlund, Nina M. “Pooling Administrative Resources Through EU Regulatory Networks.” Journal of European Public Policy 24, no. 1 (2017): 61–80.
Vibert, Frank. The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Vogel, David. National Styles of Regulation: Environmental Policy in Great Britain and the United States. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Christensen, J., Holst, C. (2021). The Europeanization of National Knowledge Regimes. In: Abazi, V., Adriaensen, J., Christiansen, T. (eds) The Contestation of Expertise in the European Union. European Administrative Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-54366-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-54367-9
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)