Politics of Decision-Making: Government by experts and the politics of depoliticisation

The role of experts and conceptions of depoliticised decision-making processes stand out in the foundational Ordoliberal texts. The chapter presents the nexus of expertise, its institutional design and forms of implementation. The Ordoliberal politics of decision-making conceives the prominent role of experts and expertise as an important element in the depoliticisation of the conduct of public policy, which is to reinforce the ordering function of the state. The account explores two cases of Ordoliberal design (West-) German competition law and the institution of policy advice. The (founding) Ordoliberal thinkers did not advocate technocratic government. Rather, they argued for a rule-based conduct of government, based on firm (ordoliberal) principles. Finally, we contend that the depoliticisation effects of Ordoliberal policy advice are disproportionate to their theoretical significance.