Analysing expert advice on political decisions in times of crisis

Abstract

This article analyses the relationship between expert knowledge and political decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark, Greece and the United States. Due to the swift spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe, the management of the pandemic required urgent government responses. Our empirical findings enabled us to identify a new typology of different types of advice, from naked power to technocracy, including in-between modes of networking and interactions. We also demonstrate how systemic and governance characteristics affect expert-politics responses in the three countries. The findings demonstrate similar responses in Greece and Denmark, by contrast with the United States. We conclude by proposing a new research agenda for expert-politician relations during crises, which focuses on the role of experts in public sensemaking, which is particularly important in an era of recurring and overlapping crises.