‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy

Between 2005 and 2006, the Czech government imposed a forced administration on the General Health Insurance Fund (VZP) because of economic problems. This unprecedented step in Czech public policy resulted in a debate. The VZP is the largest insurance fund in the Czech Republic, and this case has bee...

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Main Authors: Karel Čada, Petra A. Honová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: OpenEdition 2021-12-01
Series:International Review of Public Policy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2509
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author Karel Čada
Petra A. Honová
author_facet Karel Čada
Petra A. Honová
author_sort Karel Čada
collection DOAJ
description Between 2005 and 2006, the Czech government imposed a forced administration on the General Health Insurance Fund (VZP) because of economic problems. This unprecedented step in Czech public policy resulted in a debate. The VZP is the largest insurance fund in the Czech Republic, and this case has been one of the most severe institutional crises in Czech health policy. Employing analysis of 38 television-hosted debates, we emphasise how the actors negotiated accountability, credibility and truth. This paper aims to identify the discursive and rhetorical resources used by the involved parties to manage what was at stake in the debate: to maintain their credibility and legitimacy and to manage factuality. We follow Collins and Evans’s (2002) approach to expertise and distinguish four types of expertise: contributory, interaction, institutionally recognised, and experience-based. These different kinds of expertise use other vehicles of corroboration and factual evaluation. We opt for a more nuanced approach to how involved actors argue and what rhetorical strategies are relevant in different contexts.
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spelling doaj-art-8590a59531f74f5985077ecb611d0c002025-01-09T16:26:00ZengOpenEditionInternational Review of Public Policy2679-38732706-62742021-12-013336438110.4000/irpp.2509‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policyKarel ČadaPetra A. HonováBetween 2005 and 2006, the Czech government imposed a forced administration on the General Health Insurance Fund (VZP) because of economic problems. This unprecedented step in Czech public policy resulted in a debate. The VZP is the largest insurance fund in the Czech Republic, and this case has been one of the most severe institutional crises in Czech health policy. Employing analysis of 38 television-hosted debates, we emphasise how the actors negotiated accountability, credibility and truth. This paper aims to identify the discursive and rhetorical resources used by the involved parties to manage what was at stake in the debate: to maintain their credibility and legitimacy and to manage factuality. We follow Collins and Evans’s (2002) approach to expertise and distinguish four types of expertise: contributory, interaction, institutionally recognised, and experience-based. These different kinds of expertise use other vehicles of corroboration and factual evaluation. We opt for a more nuanced approach to how involved actors argue and what rhetorical strategies are relevant in different contexts.https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2509health policydiscoursecrisisinterpretative policy analysisCzech Republic
spellingShingle Karel Čada
Petra A. Honová
‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
International Review of Public Policy
health policy
discourse
crisis
interpretative policy analysis
Czech Republic
title ‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
title_full ‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
title_fullStr ‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
title_full_unstemmed ‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
title_short ‘The more we verify it, the more truth there is’: Producing the truth and expertise in public policy
title_sort the more we verify it the more truth there is producing the truth and expertise in public policy
topic health policy
discourse
crisis
interpretative policy analysis
Czech Republic
url https://journals.openedition.org/irpp/2509
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