Key Findings
- Stability in technocratic attitudes: Despite the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, the structure of technocratic attitudes remained stable, suggesting we can be confident in the measures used in this new field of study. People with technocratic attitudes consistently displayed:
- Strong preference for scientific expertise in politics
- Higher levels of elitism
- Aversion to partisan politics
- Low preference for populism
- Increased preference for experts: The proportion of citizens with technocratic attitudes increased moderately in all countries studied compared to pre-pandemic levels (2017 data). Across the 10 countries, the study identified 15.2% as technocratic, 18.1% as populist and, 14.5% as party-democratic citizens.
- Country variations: Technocratic attitudes were more prevalent in Southern European countries (Italy: 18.5%, Greece: 19.5%) and Eastern European countries (Poland: 21.5%, Romania: 17%) than in Western and Northern European nations. The US exhibited levels (11.5%) comparable to Western European countries.
- Populist citizens also show strong demand for expertise in politics: This overlap between technocratic and populist citizens is a consistent finding among previous studies. It highlights the powerful message of technopopulism coupled with the denigration of politics.
- COVID-19 specific findings:
- Technocratic citizens showed lower levels of anti-intellectualism
- They evaluated governments more positively when they followed expert consensus, but more negatively in countries where governments diverged from scientific advice (UK and US)
Implications
- Polarizing or depolarizing potential of experts: Expert involvement in policy-making may help decrease polarization on contentious issues, when scientific expertise is not politicized. The literature has identified a "technocratic effect" where citizens are more likely to accept policies when proposed by technocratic actors rather than party leaders, especially when they might otherwise disagree with the policy.
- Increased relevance of expert politics: Given ongoing environmental and security crises, the role of experts in policy-making is likely to remain significant. Further study is needed to understand what types of experts and in what can help alleviate citizen concerns while providing sound policy input.
- Understanding current political developments: The study highlights that different groups in society express preference for expertise, but may disagree on which experts they want involved in politics. These findings help explain support for government efficiency campaigns, such as Musk’s DOGE in the US and abroad.
Research Methods
The study employed survey data collected from over 10,000 respondents across ten countries in December 2020, approximately one year into the pandemic. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify distinct groups of citizens based on their attitudes toward expertise, politics, elitism, and populism.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced rather than fundamentally altered existing patterns in public attitudes toward experts in politics. The study demonstrates that technocratic attitudes represent a stable and significant viewpoint among citizens across democracies, with important implications for crisis communication, policy acceptance, and democratic governance in an era of complex global challenges.
Link to study: Full article: Technocratic attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the US
Eri Bertsou is the Author of this publication. She is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and recipient of the Swiss National Foundation’s Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship grant for the project Varieties of Expertise (2022–2027). Previously, she was a Senior Researcher in Comparative Politics at the University of Zurich and earned her PhD from the London School of Economics.
Her research explores political behavior, democratic challenges, and citizen attitudes towards expertise, technocratic governance, and innovation. Her work has been published in leading journals, including American Journal of Political Science and Nature Human Behaviour. She is also affiliated with the Electoral Psychology Observatory (LSE) and the European Governance and Politics Program (EUI).
