The Multiple Worlds of Expertise

Abstract

‘The Multiple Worlds of Expertise’ describes different modalities of expertise the academic work is required to produce through a utilitarian and short-term knowledge for decision-making. From a position of insider–researcher, different modes of policy learning linking experts and policymakers have been studied. Far from being a direct and linear process, expertise provided by academics in different European networks is defined through multiple interactions, while knowledge production is related to different socialising experiences. Types of encounters between expertise and policy have different features, while expert content itself influences more or less decision-making. However, while the worlds of expertise are plural, they produce and legitimise sciences of government which compete with knowledge produced by the academic world, while other institutions like think tanks and agencies become more influent.