The Dutch see Red: (in)formal science advisory bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic

We analyse the roles, dynamics and logic of science advice in structuring the Dutch response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from January 2020 to December 2020. We address how the Dutch government responded by paying attention to styles of governance and expert advice. We argue that the Dutch response was shaped by the interplay of corporatist, deliberative and neoliberal forms of governance—how early corporatist tendencies created consensus during the first phase but quickly led to criticism and tension, most visibly at the onset of the second wave, as corporatist and neoliberal responses conflicted with deliberative and pluralist political engagement. Situating different science advisory bodies in this dynamic, we highlight how evolving science–policy interactions and conflicts can be understood within this triad and as reflective of the endurance of the Dutch model of polder governance.

Janne Aarts, Eva Gerth, David Ludwig, Harro Maat, Phil Macnaghten