Biography
Vincent Gayon teaches the sociology of European and international public action, the political sociology of international expertise, and the historical sociology of the state, representative democracy, and "European integration."
His research focuses on the sociology of public action, international organizations and state transformations, the political sociology of economics, the political sociology of expertise, scholarly discourse and intellectuals, the social history of economic ideas, and the political sociology of international relations and European Union.
His research has focused on in-depth analysis of international economic organizations such as the OECD, the European Union, and their member states, examining them through the economic, monetary, social, and employment policies that they help to formalize and implement. These organizations have served as a privileged observatory of the transformations of capitalism and economic policy since the 1950s.
His book Epistemocracy: An Investigation into the International Governance of Capitalism (forthcoming in English, 2022 in French) summarizes some of his work and questions the preferred mode of governance in the international arena, where political and economic decisions are based on claims of technical and scientific expertise, often to the detriment of public debate and citizen participation. The book shows how, since the end of the post-war boom, international organizations (such as the OECD, but also the IMF, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank) and networks of experts have gained increasing power in defining economic policies by imposing standards and reforms presented as “objective” and “neutral.” By investigating the production of international economic expertise, the book questions both the epistemic consistency and the political scope of this mode of governance.
Doctorate in political science (2010)
Habilitation (2023)
Co-director of Master 1 “Institutions, organizations, economies and societies”, Université Paris Dauphine - PSL, Ecole des mines de paris - PSL, EHESS
Coordinator of IRISSO's “Sociologie politique de l'économie” research program
Publications
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