Is Anybody Here an Expert? The COVID-19 Pandemic and Technocratic Attitudes

• In Event: Misinformation, Scientific Knowledge, and Public Health Crises

Abstract

Support for technocracy increases in times of crisis and economic shocks. However, we do not know how durable initial changes are and whether they can be translated into already existing ideological divides. The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis offers a suitable case study to answer these questions. We present results from a panel study in Spain conducted between January 2020 to November 2022. The results show that support for technocracy increased substantially just after the onset of the pandemic crisis. Moreover, we also show that an ideological divide has emerged in Spain around technocracy, as right-wing respondents (measured by vote choice before the outbreak) have become comparatively more technocratic. We explore two mechanisms explaining the ideological polarization in technocratic attitudes: (1) anti-incumbent reaction to the left-wing coalition government; and (2) activation of latent right-wing anti-democratic attitudes. The mechanisms are explored estimating the moderating effects of approval for the prime minister and proxies for latent authoritarian preferences (Francoist street names and electoral data). Overall, the results suggest that the initial increase in technocratic preferences was absorbed by the left-right cleavage.

Authors

• Marco Alexander Pastor Mayo, University of Oxford

• Francesc Amat, University of Barcelona, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 585 08007 Barcelona