Friday, March 14, 2014
Executive (Omni Shoreham)
Nanotechnology broadly conceived poses serious questions for policymakers at the local, national, and European levels about how best to promote economic growth while also ensuring the health and safety of citizens and protecting the environment. While a European framework to address the potential risks of nano-materials has been proposed through existing chemical regulations (REACH), these rules have yet to come into effect and will largely be enforced through member states. At the domestic level, national governments have varied in their legislative responses to the risks posed by these new technologies signifying important differences in policy making processes across states. This paper helps to explain such policy variation and how differences in regulatory frameworks to address potential risks influence the development of nanotechnology regulation throughout the EU. In particular, this study looks at two leaders in nanotechnology innovation, Germany and the UK. Despite high concentrations of nanotechnology firms in both countries, the policy dynamics within each state differs dramatically, with Germany pursuing more open and inclusive policy strategies that incorporate broader societal interests while the UK pursues a more closed policy process that tends to favor industrial interests. Ultimately, these case studies emphasize the importance that different policy styles play in explaining variation across states as well as the the development of a nanotechnology regime in Europe.
