Contesting state expertise after COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Science
• Environmental Sociology
• Political Science

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted public trust in science, expertise, and institutions.
• Societal norms regarding expertise have been transformed by the pandemic experience.
• This transformation influences how social movements contest state-driven expertise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how the pandemic reshaped trust in science and expertise.
• To investigate how social movements challenging state expertise navigate post-pandemic norms.
• To understand how citizens negotiate their status as challengers of expertise.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of interview data.
• Case study of an environmental health mobilization in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada.
• Examination of how participants negotiate their precarious status and differentiate their claims from conspiracist groups.

Main Results:

• Participants draw on direct and indirect evidence of politicized expertise to justify distrust.
• Mobilized citizens actively negotiate the boundary between their claims and those of COVID-19-related conspiracist groups.
• The study highlights the challenges and strategies of contesting expertise in a post-COVID-19 context.

Conclusions:

• Mobilized citizens navigate evolving norms of trust in science and expertise.
• Understanding these negotiations is crucial for comprehending contemporary social movements.
• The findings offer insights into the dynamics of citizen engagement with scientific and state authority.