Technocratic attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the US
Journal
West European Politics
ISSN
0140-2382
ISSN-Digital
1743-9655
Type
Article
Date Issued
2025-03-07
Author(s)
Abstract
The economic crises of the previous decade, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis have catapulted questions surrounding the role of independent experts in politics to the forefront of public debates. However, given the limited availability of data and measures to date, questions remain regarding the stability of citizens’ attitudes towards experts and the replicability of previous results. Based on a new original survey in nine European countries, and for the first time, in the US, this article validates recently developed measures of technocratic attitudes and maps how the structure and prevalence of such attitudes have changed following the outbreak of the pandemic. Results show that the structure of technocratic attitudes remained stable, with a mix of strong preference for expertise, elitism, anti-politics and low preference for populism. Findings also suggest that preferences for experts in politics remain high among most citizen groups, although there are important differences in the way citizens evaluate political responses to the pandemic.
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Volume
49
Number
2
Official URL
Subject(s)
Division(s)