Consumers and Nanotechnology: Deliberative Processes and Methodologies - Hardcover

"The book is a highly relevant and important contribution to wider contemporary debates on the nature and division of responsibilities and the roles and influence of multiple actors and constituencies in contexts which bring together innovation under late modernity and plural governance within modern democracies."
―Sally Randles, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, University of Manchester, UK

"The editors did an excellent job, not only by delivering a comprehensive overview of the state of affairs of deliberative processes in the field of emerging technologies, but also by advancing the insights gained of the previous decade and providing a promising outlook for future deliberative practices."
―René von Schomberg, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

In recent years, questions about democratic influence on science and technology have received much attention. The lesson from the European unrest over GMO is that consumer-citizens will react negatively to being forced to accept the introduction of new, partly untested technologies. A number of political bodies have started to involve citizens and to consider their concerns, attitudes, hopes, and worries in the early stages of the coming nano revolution. This volume is assembles the contributions of experts who analyze a number of these deliberations, mainly in the European Union and the United States. The book analyzes citizen-oriented deliberations along with more stakeholder-oriented deliberations.