Humanities and Social Sciences Scholars on the Campaign Trail: Between Expertise and Prophecy

By analysing the interventions of humanities and social sciences (HSS) researchers and academics in national daily newspapers during the 2014 European electoral campaign, this article sheds new light on the development of “expertise” as a form of engagement of intellectuals in public space. While these scholars may be expected to lend their expertise, are they effectively doing this when they contribute to national generalist newspapers? This study focuses on the pieces they authored in the prominent newspapers Le Monde, Liberation et Le Figaro – op-eds, interviews, columns, and analytical articles. The qualitative and quantitative study of the content of these productions reveals that discourses are rooted in the authors’ disciplines, but also, especially after the election results, that they manifest an inclination towards prophecy. While they leave little room for well-argued demonstration, newspaper articles draw their legitimacy from the expert competencies displayed by the author and collectively guaranteed by researchers as a professional body. In this limited framework, this collective capital point is at risk of being instrumentalized and/or devalued when used individually.