Speaking Truth to Power

Expertise, Politics and Governance

Policy, Administrative and Institutional Change series

Benjamin Ginsberg, David Bernstein Professor of Political Science and Collin Paschall, Assistant Director of the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies, Johns Hopkins University, US

Truth and power have a difficult relationship. Decision makers are often required to make judgements that depend upon specialized knowledge and thus reluctantly surrender power. They are apt to reject advice inconsistent with their perceived interests, experiences and cognitive capacities. Speaking Truth to Power aims to guide the reader through the tangled relationship between truth and power, manifesting as the interplay between experts and decision-makers in society.

‘Ginsberg and Paschall, two experts in their own right, have produced a provocative book about the role of expertise in politics and policy-making. Amidst a host of illuminating examples and serious arguments, a core insight leaps out at the reader – that expertise is both a “counterweight to power” and a “weapon for the powerful”.’
– Kenneth A. Shepsle, Harvard University, US