300458 Governing by Values? The Role of Ethics Between Science, Policy, and Society (MA: Politische Soziologie) (S) (SoSe 2024)

The COVID-19 crisis has confronted policymakers, experts, and citizens alike with multiple challenges. These include uncertainties about how to deal with value conflicts, decisions between diverse (economic, social, political, religious) interests, and ethical dilemmas. It also has become clear that especially in times of crisis, policymakers need to rely on the advice of ethical experts and ethics commissions to be able to make such difficult choices. Ethics councils have been appointed in many countries worldwide. They cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging from public health and biotechnologies to climate injustice and artificial intelligence. Research in this field has shed light on the influence of ethical expertise within political advisory systems, on the conflicts within and between ethics commissions, and how ethical expertise is used to legitimize decisions and immunize policymakers against scrutiny. We will discuss theories of expertise and values in governing and public policy, analyze selected policy cases and crises, and compare inter- and transnational systems of ethics advice. We will also use insights from a new research project on ‘Ethics and Expertise in Times of Crisis’, carried out at the Universities of Birmingham, Bielefeld, Sheffield, and Melbourne.

Bibliography

Pykett, J., Ball, S., Dingwall, R., Lepenies, R., Sommer, T., Strassheim, H., & Wenzel, L. (2022). Ethical moments and institutional expertise in UK Government COVID-19 pandemic policy responses: where, when and how is ethical advice sought? Evidence & Policy, 19(1), 236–255. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426421X16596928051179

Sommer, T., Strassheim, H., & Wenzel, L. (2023). Crisis management and ethical expertise: The role of ethics advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12276