Abstract

TODT, Oliver. La gobernanza tecnocientífica en la Unión Europea. Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2006, vol.3, n.7, pp.21-42. ISSN 1850-0013.

Profound changes are being introduced in the decision making mechanisms of European science and technology policy. These changes are a direct response to the social conflict which, in recent decades, has affected the development of different modern technologies. But they also intend to counter a pronounced loss of public trust of the citizens in regulatory decision making. The new decision making systems can be characterized by the term "governance", in contrast to "government". The European Commission is undertaking a redesign of regulatory processes, with the aim of "democratizing" decision making and the use of expert knowledge. Other objectives are to intensify relations between different social actors, reorganize the R&D&I process around the concept of "technological platforms", as well as integrate the precautionary principle into European public policy. The recent redesign of the European food safety system shows that in regulatory practice, these changes are ambivalent. Their real significance will depend on the way the different social actors (especially the citizens themselves, as well as civil society) take up this opportunity to introduce their values and objectives into decision making.

Keywords : Governance; Science and technology regulation; Food safety; Public policy.

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