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Regulating Nanotechnologies: Risk, Uncertainty and the Global Governance Gap

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  • Robert Falkner

    (Robert Falkner is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds Masters-level degrees in politics and economics from Munich University and a DPhil in international relations from Oxford University. He has published widely on global environmental politics and risk regulation, including Business Power and Conflict in International Environmental Politics (2008). In 2008–09, he coordinated a transatlantic research team that investigated emerging nanotechnology regulation in Europe and the US, which led to the publication of the Chatham House report Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies: Towards Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation (2009).)

  • Nico Jaspers

    (Nico Jaspers is a post-doctoral researcher at the Free University of Berlin. He studied economics at Columbia University, New York, international political economy at Sciences Po, Paris (Institut d'Etudes Politiques) and received a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics in 2011. He has published widely on nanotechnology policy and in 2009 coauthored an EU commissioned report on transatlantic cooperation in nanotechnology regulation.)

Abstract

Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are set to transform the global industrial landscape, but the debate on how to regulate environmental, health and safety risks is lagging behind technological innovation. Current regulatory efforts are primarily focused on the national and regional level, while the international dimensions of nanotechnology governance are still poorly understood and rarely feature on the international agenda. However, with the ongoing globalization of nanosciences and the rapid expansion of international trade in nanomaterials, demand for international coordination and harmonization of regulatory approaches is set to increase. Yet, uncertainty about nanotechnology risk poses a profound dilemma for regulators and policy-makers. Uncertainty both creates demand for and stands in the way of greater international cooperation and harmonization of regulatory approaches. This article reviews the emerging debate on nanotechnology risk and regulatory approaches, investigates the current state of international cooperation and outlines the critical contribution that a global governance approach can make to the safe development of nanotechnologies. © 2012 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Falkner & Nico Jaspers, 2012. "Regulating Nanotechnologies: Risk, Uncertainty and the Global Governance Gap," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 12(1), pages 30-55, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:12:y:2012:i:1:p:30-55
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Justo-Hanani, Ronit & Dayan, Tamar, 2015. "European risk governance of nanotechnology: Explaining the emerging regulatory policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1527-1536.
    2. Justo-Hanani, Ronit & Dayan, Tamar, 2014. "The role of the state in regulatory policy for nanomaterials risk: Analyzing the expansion of state-centric rulemaking in EU and US chemicals policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 169-178.
    3. Serkan Erbis & Zeynep Ok & Jacqueline A. Isaacs & James C. Benneyan & Sagar Kamarthi, 2016. "Review of Research Trends and Methods in Nano Environmental, Health, and Safety Risk Analysis," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(8), pages 1644-1665, August.
    4. Andreas Goldthau & Benjamin K. Sovacool, 2016. "Energy Technology, Politics, and Interpretative Frames: Shale Gas Fracking in Eastern Europe," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(4), pages 50-69, November.
    5. Tran, Van T. & Yiannaka, Amalia & Giannakas, Konstantinos, 2013. "Consumer Attitudes, Labeling Regimes and the Market Success of Food Nanotechnology," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 151262, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Steinar Andresen & G. Kristin Rosendal & Jon Birger Skjærseth, 2018. "Regulating the invisible: interaction between the EU and Norway in managing nano-risks," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 513-528, August.
    7. Ronit Justo-Hanani & Tamar Dayan, 2016. "Explaining Transatlantic Policy Divergence: The Role of Domestic Politics and Policy Styles in Nanotechnology Risk Regulation," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 79-98, February.
    8. Sheona A. K. Read & Gary S. Kass & Hilary R. Sutcliffe & Steven M. Hankin, 2016. "Foresight Study on the Risk Governance of New Technologies: The Case of Nanotechnology," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(5), pages 1006-1024, May.
    9. Heather Millar, 2020. "Problem Uncertainty, Institutional Insularity, and Modes of Learning in Canadian Provincial Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(6), pages 765-796, November.
    10. Igor Linkov & Benjamin D. Trump & Elke Anklam & David Berube & Patrick Boisseasu & Christopher Cummings & Scott Ferson & Marie-Valentine Florin & Bernard Goldstein & Danail Hristozov & Keld Alstrup Je, 2018. "Comparative, collaborative, and integrative risk governance for emerging technologies," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 170-176, June.

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