Researchers must share expertise with the public now more than before, argues Andrea Römmele in DIE ZEIT op-ed

In an op-ed published in DIE ZEIT on 9 February, Hertie School Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society Andrea Römmele writes about the relationship between research, politics and the public, advocating for scholars to play a more active role in society.

In order to build public trust in scientific knowledge and prevent its manipulation by populists as an elitist tool of control, academia “must share its expertise with the public now more than before”, the Dean of Executive Education writes. “Not only on international law, as in the case of the Ukraine war; not only on aspects of infection throughout the coronavirus pandemic; not only on the correlation between climate emissions and global warming – but also on topics that are not in the media’s direct focus.” Researchers could offer policy advice and shape current debates, she says.

However, Römmele also points out the tensions in the relationship between politics and research: “Politics negotiates between opposing ideologies and conflicting interests. It can neither offload decision-making onto scientific expertise nor do without it.” In order to restore its image as a place of free thought and a critical voice in public debates, academia needs to leave its ivory tower, Römmele writes.

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