(De)constructing Expertise: Comparing Knowledge Utilization in the Migrant Integration “Crisis”

Crises can provide windows of opportunity for policy analysis, since policymakers are likely to be interested in knowledge which helps them solve their urgent problems. But what if there is deep controversy in policy-oriented research on the nature and very existence of the crisis? This article analyses the migrant integration ‘crisis’ of the 2000s in the UK, the Netherlands, and Italy. It shows how what counts as expertise can be constantly at stake in knowledge utilisation processes. The notion of ‘(de)constructing expertise’ is introduced to describe conflict-ridden patterns of knowledge utilisation, where different knowledge claimants and claims compete for recognition.