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Cynical or deliberative?: an analysis of the European Commission's public communication on its use of expertise in policy-making
[journal article]
Abstract The European Commission has faced increasing criticism that its use of expertise in policy-making is undemocratic and politicized. In response to critics, the Commission has produced a number of publicly available documents where its expert policies and practices are outlined and discussed. Cynics v... view more
The European Commission has faced increasing criticism that its use of expertise in policy-making is undemocratic and politicized. In response to critics, the Commission has produced a number of publicly available documents where its expert policies and practices are outlined and discussed. Cynics view public communications of this nature with skepticism, as organizations tend to adopt "smooth talk" and cosmetic rhetoric designed to placate critics and create a façade of compliance aimed at decreasing external pressure. An alternative deliberative approach, would expect the Commission to engage in a relatively open, reflective and reason-based interchange. The article's main aim is to assess the relative merits of these two approaches in capturing the Commission's framing of its public communication. Cynical expectations, prevalent among Commission critics, are confirmed by the Commission's silence on unpleasant topics including the undemocratic nature of existing expertise arrangements and the strategic uses of knowledge in EU policy-making. However, firm regulatory initiatives and the Commission's critical engagement with democratization demands and possible goal conflicts within their critics' agenda give significant leverage to a deliberative approach.... view less
Keywords
European Commission; know how; democratization; knowledge; public communications
Classification
Interpersonal Communication
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
European Politics
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
Page/Pages
p. 37-48
Journal
Politics and Governance, 3 (2015) 1
Issue topic
The role of expert knowledge in EU executive institutions
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution