Paper short abstract:

This article examines the shifting understanding of the role of international experts: from privileged wise people that knew more than anyone to actants that face the unknown, measure the incalculable

Paper long abstract:

This article examines the shifting understanding of the role of international experts in providing peacebuilding and development assistance. For the past twenty years, commentators have criticised the unjustified privileges of international experts as well as the frameworks, tools and technocratic procedures they use. For example, these have employed external templates to measure economic progress, pursued the creation of rational and efficient institutions and have focused on reductionist representations of societies. The result has been, the critics contend, in rarely successful peace and development processes, often ruinous for the majority of societies intervened upon. While some critics have claimed the need to remove experts from countries affected by collective violence, the general assumption is that international support is needed. But experts must adopt a different role.

Drawing on John Dewey's pragmatism and the work of the late Bruno Latour, this article examines how the role of expertise is being redefined. Experts can no longer be the omnipresent Gods who knew more than the rest about negotiations and conflict resolutions. Instead, they shall admit how difficult it is to advice, to lead, to predict or to comprehend, and naturally continue with their unlimited duties. Today experts have to calculate the incalculable, measure what they do not know and deal with the consequences of their actions before they are called, for a lack of a better work, 'experts'. This paper reflects on this new understanding of expertise, examining the recently introduced everyday peace indicators programmes.