“You can’t challenge the narrative”: Conservative-leaning New Zealanders on power, truth and politics in science

Institutions shape ideas and bridge gaps between competing views, but their role in managing tensions within scientific communities is under-researched. This paper uses social cohesion and new institutionalism frameworks to explore conservative New Zealanders’ perspectives that compete with dominant institutional scientific narratives. We conducted semi-structured interviews with conservative-leaning New Zealanders, enquiring about their perspectives on the politics and practice of science in Aotearoa New Zealand. We found a strong belief in the importance of science and a high regard for scientists, provided they maintain objectivity and challenge prevailing ideas, alongside concerns about institutional bias and outspoken scientists being cancelled by institutions. We discuss how these themes undermine social cohesion, with perceived institutional bias eroding vertical cohesion—trust between groups and institutions—and leading to the emergence of parallel alternative institutions that break horizontal cohesion—trust between groups in society.