Knowledge-based decision-making is indispensable to modern democracies; they cannot function without delegating some tasks to knowledge-producing bodies that are politically sheltered. Expertise is needed to run bureaucracies and agencies as well as to explain and justify policies to the general public in whose name policies are pursued. Thus, modern government relies on the delegation of a wide range of tasks to non-majoritarian institutions (NOMIS), such as central banks, international institutions, and independent agencies. From financial regulation to environmental protection, expert bodies vested with public authority conduct work necessary for polities’ day-to-day functioning and long-term stability. The increasing power of NOMIS has raised concerns about the displacement of democratic authorization and control and the rise of epistocracy/technocracy. How can such concerns be addressed in terms of both accuracy and potential remedy?
There are many potential sources of legitimacy for NOMIS, such as participatory inclusiveness, claims to expertise, and exposure to accountability mechanisms. However, it is unclear what reasons support these measures and what they entail in practice. Is there a common conceptual frame that can help us assess the democratic responsiveness of these institutions?
Understanding these challenges requires insight into the way NOMIS are embedded in the political landscape. It is therefore necessary to have multi-disciplinary venue for discussing legitimacy concerns regarding such institutions. Only by a precise diagnosis of the threats NOMIS pose can we propose strategies for making them safe for democracy.
The workshop is organised as part of the REFLEX project at ARENA.
Programme
Thursday 20 June
10.00 |
Welcome and Coffee |
10.15 |
Section 1Chair: Alexander Katsaitis Erik O. EriksenMaking depoliticized decision making safe for democracy Discussant: Joana Mendes Andreas EriksenThe accountability of independent agencies Discussant: Chris Lord |
12.00 |
Lunch |
13.00 |
Section 2Chair: Trym Nohr Fjørtoft Tobias BachReputational threats and democratic responsiveness of regulatory agencies (With Marlene Jugl, Dustin Köhler, Kai Wegrich) Discussant: David Demortain Martino MaggettiReasserting the center of the nation state: How EU agencies reshape domestic policymaking (With Philipp Trein) Discussant: Alexander Katsaitis |
14.30 |
Coffee |
14.45 |
David DemortainThe organization of evidence: How agencies design decision-making procedures to project truth and objectivity Discussant: Andreas Eriksen Eva KrickBetween ‘scientisation’ and a ‘participatory turn’. Tracing shifts in the governance of policy advice (With Johan Christensen and Cathrine Holst) Discussant: Kjartan Koch Mikalsen |
16.15 |
End of day 1 |
Friday 21 June
09.00 |
Coffee |
09.30 |
Section 3Chair: Erik O. Eriksen Torbjørn GundersenScientific experts in unelected bodies: towards a pragmatic view of political and ethical values Discussant: Eva Krick Kjartan Koch MikalsenExpertise and the general will: Towards a more democratic republicanism Discussant: Erik O. Eriksen |
11.00 |
Coffee |
11.15 |
Alexander Katsaitis & Andreas EriksenAccountability through mutual attunement: Parliamentary hearings & agency oversight in the European Union Discussant: Martino Maggetti Joana MendesAfter legality: constitutive powers of the EU executive in financial regulation and their constitutional implications Discussant: Andreas Eriksen |
12.45 |
Lunch |
13.45 |
Section 4Chair: Andreas Eriksen Christopher LordMoney as power. Implications for ECB Independence and Epistocracy Discussant: Martino Maggetti Trym Nohr FjørtoftFrontex, expertise, and the refugee crisis Discussant: Tobias Bach |
15.15 |
End of programme |