Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

In science we (dis)trust: technocratic attitudes, populism, and trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Symposium
  • Published:
European Political Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

During the pandemic, science became one of the most salient issues in European polities. At the same time, relevant sectors of European societies were sceptical about science-driven policy to contain the pandemic (e.g., lockdowns or vaccine mandates). The literature so far has analysed the relevance of trust in experts and trust in science in determining compliance to pandemic-related policies. However, we still do not know what are the drivers that lead to (dis)trust science. In this paper, we contribute to fill this gap, by analysing the association between technocratic and populist attitudes and trust in science. Using a novel survey, fielded in Italy, among a sample of 5.000 respondents, we show that populism and technocracy are strongly related with (dis)trust in science in opposite directions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altiparmakis, Argyrios, Abel Bojar, Sylvain Brouard, Martial Foucault, Hanspeter Kriesi, and Richard Nadeau. 2021. Pandemic politics: Policy evaluations of government responses to COVID-19. West European Politics 44 (5–6): 1159–1179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelou, Angelos, Stella Ladi, Dimitra Panagiotatou, and Vasiliki Tsagkroni. 2023. Paths to trust: Explaining citizens’ trust to experts and evidence-informed policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Administration. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelucci, Davide, and Davide Vittori. 2022. Are all populist voters the same? Institutional distrust and the five star movement in Italy. South European Society and Politics 26 (3): 303–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertsou, Eri. 2022. Bring in the experts? Citizen preferences for independent experts in political decision-making processes. European Journal of Political Research 61: 255–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertsou, Eri, and Daniele Caramani. 2022. People haven’t had enough of experts: Technocratic attitudes among citizens in nine European democracies. American Journal of Political Science 66: 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertsou, Eri, and Giulia Pastorella. 2017. Technocratic attitudes: A citizens’ perspective of expert decision-making. West European Politics 40 (2): 430–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bickerton, Christopher, and Carlo Invernizzi Accetti. 2017. Populism and technocracy: Opposites or complements? Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 20 (2): 186–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, Martin. 2021. The Italian government response to Covid-19 and the making of a prime minister. Contemporary Italian Politics 13 (2): 149–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cairney, Paul, and Adam Wellstead. 2021. COVID-19: Effective policymaking depends on trust in experts, politicians, and the public. Policy Design and Practice 4 (1): 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caramani, Daniele. 2017. Will vs. reason: The populist and technocratic forms of representation and their critique to party government. American Political Science Review 111 (1): 54–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberl, Jakob-Moritz., Robert A. Huber, and Esther Greussing. 2021. From populism to the “plandemic”: Why populists believe in COVID-19 conspiracies. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 31 (sup1): 272–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrke, Franziska, Gloria Grommisch, Emma Penelope Busch, and Magdalena C. Kaczmarek. 2023. Populist attitudes predict compliance-related attitudes and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic via trust in institutions. Social Psychology 54 (1–2): 78–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, John H. 2013. The growing social and moral conflict between conservative Protestantism and science. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 52 (2): 368–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, John H., and Eszter Hargittai. 2020. Who doesn’t trust fauci? The public’s belief in the expertise and shared values of scientists in the COVID-19 pandemic. Socius. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023120947337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eyal, Gil. 2019. The Crisis of Expertise. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gauchat, Gordon. 2015. The Political context of science in the united states: Public acceptance of evidence-based policy and science funding. Social Forces 94 (2): 723–746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherghina, Sergiu, and Brigitte Geissel. 2019. An alternative to representation: Explaining preferences for citizens as political decision-makers. Political Studies Review 17 (3): 224–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, Robert A. 2020. The role of populist attitudes in explaining climate change skepticism and support for environmental protection. Environmental Politics 29 (6): 959–982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huber, Robert A., Greussing Esther, and Jakob-Moritz. Eberl. 2022. From populism to climate scepticism: The role of institutional trust and attitudes towards science. Environmental Politics 31 (7): 1115–1138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Jonathan. 2019. Populist politics and vaccine hesitancy in Western Europe: An analysis of national-level data. European Journal of Public Health 29 (3): 512–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasco, Gideon. 2020. Medical populism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Global Public Health 15 (10): 1417–1429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavezzolo, Sebastián, Luis Ramiro, and Pablo Fernández-Vázquez. 2022. Technocratic attitudes in COVID-19 times: Change and preference over types of experts. European Journal of Political Research 61 (4): 1123–1142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mede, Niels G., and Mike S. Schäfer. 2020. Science-related populism: Conceptualizing populist demands toward science. Public Understanding of Science 29 (5): 473–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudde, Cas. 2004. The populist zeitgeist. Government and Opposition 39 (4): 541–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumayer, Eric, Katharina G. Pfaff, and Thomas Plümper. 2023. Protest against Covid-19 containment policies in European countries. Journal of Peace Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00223433221135335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picchio, Matteo, and Raffaella Santolini. 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on voter turnout. European Journal of Political Economy 73: 102161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2021.102161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pilet, Jean-Benoit., Davide Vittori, Sebastien Rojon, and Emilen Paulis. 2023a. Who do Europeans want to govern? Exploring the multiple dimensions of citizens’ preferences for political actors in nine European countries. Party Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688231153932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pilet, Jean-Benoit., Leonardo Puleo, and Davide Vittori. 2023b. Exploring the causes of technocratic minister appointments in Europe. Political Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217231210129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plohl, Nejc, and Bojan Musil. 2021. Modeling compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines: The critical role of trust in science. Psychology, Health & Medicine 26 (1): 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapeli, Laura. 2016. Public support for expert decision-making: Evidence from Finland. Politics 86 (2): 142–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rojon, Sebastien, Jean-Benoit. Pilet, Davide Vittori, Sophie Panel, and Emilen Paulis. 2023. Which political outsiders do Europeans prefer as ministers? European Political Science Review 15 (3): 444–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saglietto, Andrea, Fabrizio D’Ascenzo, GiuseppeBiondi Zoccai, and Gaetano Maria De Ferrari. 2020. COVID-19 in Europe: The Italian lesson. Lancet 395: 1110–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uscinski, Joseph E., Adam M. Enders, Casey A. Klofstad, Michelle I. Seelig, John R. Funchion, Caleb Everett, Stephan Wuchty, Kamal Premaratne, and Manohar N. Murthi. 2020. Why do people believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories? The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review. https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vittori, Davide, Jean-Benoit. Pilet, Sebastien Rojon, and Emilen Paulis. 2023a. Technocratic ministers in office in European countries (2000–2020): What’s new? Political Studies Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299221140036.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vittori, Davide, Jean-Benoit. Pilet, Sebastien Rojon, and Emilen Paulis. 2023b. Do technocrats boost the acceptance of policy proposals among the citizenry? Evidence from a survey experiment in Italy. Electoral Studies 81: 102566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vittori, Davide, Sebastien Rojon, Jean-Benoit. Pilet, and Emilen Paulis. 2023c. Technocracy above partisanship? Comparing the appeal of non-partisan and partisan experts as ministers—A survey in 14 countries. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481231178244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wondreys, Jakub, and Cas Mudde. 2022. Victims of the pandemic? European far-right parties and COVID-19. Nationalities Papers 50 (1): 86–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wormer, Holger. 2020. German media and coronavirus: Exceptional communication—Or just a catalyst for existing tendencies? Media and Communication 8 (2): 467–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wutke, Alexander, Christian Schimpf, and Harald Schoen. 2020. When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: On the conceptualization and measurement of populist attitudes and other multidimensional constructs. American Political Science Review 114 (2): 356–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 773023).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy

    Davide Angelucci

  2. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Davide Vittori

Authors
  1. Davide Angelucci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Davide Vittori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Davide Vittori.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is part of a Symposium on Politics During the COVID-19 pandemic. Guest Edited by Sergiu Gherghina, Joakim Ekman, Olena Podolyan, and Nicholas Aylott.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 26 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Angelucci, D., Vittori, D. In science we (dis)trust: technocratic attitudes, populism, and trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eur Polit Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-024-00487-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-024-00487-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation