Beyond Technocracy

Nuclear energy, stem cell technology, GMOs: the more science advances, the more society seems to resist. But are we really watching a death struggle between opposing forces, as so many would have it? Can today’s complex technical policy decisions coincide with the needs of a participatory democracy? Are the two sides even equipped to talk to each other?

Beyond Technocracy: Science, Politics and Citizens answers these questions with clarity and vision. Drawing upon a broad range of data and events from the United States and Europe, and noting the blurring of the expert/lay divide in the knowledge base, the book argues that these conflicts should not be dismissed as episodic, or the outbursts of irrationality and ignorance, but recognized as a critical opportunity to discuss the future in which we want to live. Massimiano Bucchi’s analysis covers the complex realities of post-academic science as he:

• Explores the widely debated theme of science and democracy across a broad range of technological controversies.
• Overviews issues raised by the current relationship among scientists, policymakers, business interests, and the public.

• Dispels stereotypes of the detached scientific community versus the uninformed general public.
• Examines the role of the media in framing scientific debate.
• Addresses the question of how to move beyond technocracy to a more fruitful collaboration between scientists and citizens.
• Offers a bold vision for a future in which the scientific and public spheres regard each other as partners working toward a shared purpose.

Beyond Technocracy: Science, Politics and Citizens has great value as a postgraduate text for courses in technology and society, political science, and science policy. It will also find an interested audience among scientists, policymakers, managers in the technological sector, and concerned lay readers.

Massimiano Bucchi (Ph.D. Social and Political Science, European University Institute, 1997) is Associate Professor of Sociology of Science at the University of Trento, Italy. He has published five books, including Science and the media (London and New York, Routledge, 1998) and Science in society. An Introduction to Social Studies of Science (London and New York, Routledge, 2004) and several essays in international journals such as Nature, Science, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, New Genetics and Society, and Public Understanding of Science. He is a member of the International Scientific Committee for Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST), and has served as advisor and evaluator for several research and policy bodies, including the Royal Society, US National Science Foundation and the European Commission. He has carried out research and given seminars at several international institutions, such as the Royal Society, Universität Bielefeld, ETH Zurich, London School of Economics, University of California Berkeley, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, University of Tokyo, Museu da Vida Rio de Janeiro, Austrian Academy of the Sciences and received several recognitions for his work, including the Mullins Prize awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science (1997) and the Lelli prize for the best dissertation in sociology (1998).