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Extern / HEPP6 / Social Sciences under Scrutiny: Epistemic Populism(s) in Parliaments

Lise Moawad (RMZ, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany)

  • Wann 18.05.2026 von 14:15 bis 15:45
  • Wo University of Helsinki Main Building, Fabianinkatu 33, Room F3020
  • iCal

Similarly to how populism tends to value the wisdom of the general public, epistemic populism challenges traditional or well-established sources of knowledge. Alternative knowledge can allegedly be produced based on common sense rather than expertise. Proposing ideologically charged counter-knowledge could be another way of contesting epistemic hegemony. In both cases, social sciences are particularly vulnerable. Compared to natural sciences, they are at the bottom of the scientific evidence hierarchy and are often accused of encouraging moral relativism through scientific scepticism. How do the various mentions of social sciences in deliberative democracies reflect the spread of epistemic populism? This paper analyses references to social sciences in parliamentary debates in France, Germany and the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2022. Examining the value that parliamentarians place on social scientific knowledge reveals that criticism of them does not only come from the far right.