Can Science Tame Politics: The Collapse of the New GMO Regime in the EU
3 (2) European Journal of Risk Regulation 190-200
18 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2012 Last revised: 29 Nov 2015
Date Written: July 30, 2011
Abstract
In the article I present the results of a case study of the authorisation of a GMO potato in the European Union. It was the first authorisation for cultivation for more than a decade and was so controversial that it was immediately followed by Commission's own proposal for change of the regulatory regime.
The case is exemplary for the relationships between scientific expertise and administrative regulation. It was expected that by limiting the scope of facts relevant for the decision to "science-only," the authorisations will be placed on firm objective grounds and the political controversies will be reduced. The main conclusion from my study is that the opposite happens - when expertise is so overtaxed science gets politicised while the exclusion of socio-economic factors delegitimises the regime as a whole.
In the end I suggest that in order to avoid such tensions instead of drawing boundaries between science and democracy briges between them should be build so that all considerations which are relevant for different stakeholders shall be included in a broad overarching deliberative space.
Keywords: GMO, risk regulation, science and technology studies, risk assessments, risk managment, European Law
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation