Consumers and Nanotechnology: Deliberative Processes and Methodologies

In recent years, questions democratic influence on science and technology has received much attention. The lesson from the European unrest over GMO is that consumer-citizens will react negatively to just having 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 an early stage of the coming nano revolution. An international consortium of experts mapped a large number of these deliberations, mainly in the European Union and the United States, and proceeded to give closer analysis of a selection of those that were found most interesting. The second part of the book analyzes seven citizen-oriented deliberations. The third part of the book looks into a set of more stakeholder-oriented deliberations.

Pål Strandbakken is a researcher with the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) since 1992. He has also worked on the project Alternative Future from 1988 to 1992 for the Norwegian Parliament. His current research interests are environmental sociology, ELSA aspects of nanotechnology, product durability and STS.

Gerd Scholl is an economist currently working as a senior researcher at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) in Berlin. His main areas of interest include sustainable consumption and production, sustainable marketing and consumers and new technologies.

Eivind Stø is a political scientist currently working as a research director at the National Institute for Consumer Research in Norway. His main areas of interest include the sociology of consumption, sustainable production and consumption and consumer complaints.