By Katarina Staronova and Michal Sedlačko

How do expert bureaucrats preserve expertise, autonomy and policy influence when political leaders seek greater control over the bureaucracy? In our new Policy & Politics article, ‘How expert bureaucrats survive illiberal regimes through renegotiating expertise bargains’, we examine how expert bureaucrats in Slovakia responded to growing political pressure following the election of a populist radical right government in 2023. The article forms part of the Policy & Politics special issue forthcoming in 2027, Expertise in Democratic and Autocratic Policymaking: A research agenda, guest edited by Sonja Blum, Ellen Fobé, Valérie Pattyn and Bishoy L. Zaki.   

Existing research has shown how authoritarian populists seek to weaken bureaucratic autonomy, politicise appointments and undermine expertise. Our study shifts the focus to expert bureaucrats themselves. Rather than treating them as simply reacting to political change, we examine how they anticipate threats, develop individual and collective strategies, and renegotiate the conditions under which expertise can survive.

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