The Struggle for a Legitimate Expertise on the Shale Gas Controversy in France and Quebec
Résumé
The comparison of the instruments of public action utilized in Quebec and France to tackle the controversy over shale gas provide us an example of use of expertise in a context of uncertainty. Paris banned the specific technique of hydraulic fracturing. A pro-exploration network then strategized to explore for the resource utilizing geosciences and engineering to legitimate their policy preferences. Quebec chose to mandate a strategic environmental assessment that concluded to a weak opportunity for the shale gas industry. However, the controversy was framed on the specific resource which allows use of hydraulic fracturing for other resource – shale oil. Not only institutionally legitimate expertise weighted on the shale controversy but also activists’ expertise which appeared more diverse and grounded both in local concerns and global issues. Both cases illustrate how actors succeeded or failed to influence policymaking through the use of expertise.