ABSTRACT
Criticism of “expert rule” and an exaggerated reliance on expert knowledge is frequently heard in contemporary politics. Even during the coronavirus crisis, despite increasing trust in expert knowledge and scientists in record time providing us with an effective Covid-19 vaccine, experts and expertise came under fire. Strikingly, epistemic worries are often underplayed, if at all considered, by those who defend an increasing role for experts in policy-making, and evidence-based policy-making. Non-experts also have the option of ranking experts on the basis of possibly distorting influences from interests. Shifts in expert knowledge and intensified competition and disagreement between expert communities can also be related to social and cultural changes, economic crisis or political ruptures.
