Expert assessment as a framing exercise. The controversy over green macroalgal blooms' proliferation in France

Bourblanc Magalie. 2019. Expert assessment as a framing exercise. The controversy over green macroalgal blooms' proliferation in France. Science and Public Policy, 46 (2) : pp. 264-274.

https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scy056

Journal article ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Quartile : Q3, Sujet : PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / Quartile : Q3, Sujet : MANAGEMENT / Quartile : Q4, Sujet : ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Abstract : This article contributes to unraveling the 'paradox of scientific authority', that is, the fact that despite the loss of authority of scientific expertise, policymakers still resort to expert advice. Re-examining the role ascribed to expert assessment in the policy-making process in controversial contexts in particular, the article succeeds in demonstrating that one of the crucial roles of expert evaluation is to establish a more compelling definition of the problem to be dealt with by policymakers. Taking the scientific controversy surrounding the proliferation of green algal bloom on Brittany beaches (France) as a case in point, I show that expert assessment conceived as a framing exercise is, however, a two-way process: it is as much about framing for the sake of settling an expert dispute with sound scientific categories than about solving public problems in a sufficiently consensual way, taking into account the distribution of power more generally in society.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : Pollution par l'agriculture, Chlorophyceae, Plage, expert indépendant, Aide à la décision, Pollution de l'eau

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : France, Bretagne

Mots-clés libres : Agriculture, Controversy, Expert reporting, Framing, Politics of knowledge, Water pollution

Classification Agris : P02 - Pollution
C30 - Documentation and information

Champ stratégique Cirad : CTS 4 (2019-) - Santé des plantes, des animaux et des écosystèmes

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