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The combative metaphor of 'science wars' has taken on a predominant position within the collective conscious, from being featured on the programs of scientific meetings to being splashed across the pages of leading national magazines and newspapers. Some in the scientific community perceive their profession to be under siege by members of the academic left, radical environmentalists, religious fundamentalists, eco-feminists, and others. This book, based on in-depth interviews with sixty members of groups with alleged 'anti-science' attitudes, examines how pervasive and uniform these critiques are.

"Biology and politics have converged today across much of the industrialized world. Debates about genetically modified organisms, cloning, stem cells, animal patenting, and new reproductive technologies crowd media headlines and policy agendas. Less noticed, but no less important, are the rifts that have appeared among leading Western nations about the right way to govern innovation in genetics and biotechnology. These significant differences in law and policy, and in ethical analysis, may in a globalizing world act as obstacles to free trade, scientific inquiry, and shared understandings of human dignity. In this magisterial look at some twenty-five years of scientific and social development, Sheila Jasanoff compares the politics and policy of the life sciences in Britain, Germany, the United States, and in the European Union as a whole. She shows how public and private actors in each setting evaluated new manifestations of biotechnology and tried to reassure themselves about their safety. Three main themes emerge. First, core concepts of democratic theory, such as citizenship, deliberation, and accountability, cannot be understood satisfactorily without taking on board the politics of science and technology. Second, in all three countries, policies for the life sciences have been incorporated into "nation-building" projects that seek to reimagine what the nation stands for. Third, political culture influences democratic politics, and it works through the institutionalized ways in which citizens understand and evaluate public knowledge. These three aspects of contemporary politics, Jasanoff argues, help account not only for policy divergences but also for the perceived legitimacy of state actions."--Publisher.

Intro -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright page -- Table of Contents -- List of illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 Historical background and the theoretical model -- From the Middle Ages until industrialisation -- The theoretical model -- 2 The role of education and science in the state-building process -- Education and state-processes: political ideas and social theories -- The history of state education systems: from reformation to modernity -- Reformation: State versus Church -- The establishment of state bureaucracy -- Professionalisation -- Education and the citizen -- Examples of the use of education and science in state-building processes -- Great Britain – a success that became a burden -- France – the pros and cons of centralism -- Poland – integrating the state through education -- Conclusion -- 3 Human capital and knowledge in economic theory -- Human capital, technological advancement, and economic growth -- Controversies over state policy recommendations for education and science: the market and the state -- National innovation systems and competitive advantages -- The concept of competitive advantages in education and science -- National innovation systems -- Knowledge in the era of the Third Industrial Revolution -- Education, knowledge, and the global value chains -- The impact of education and science on economic development in market economies -- Germany – efficiency that astounded and frightened -- Japan – from avoiding colonisation to challenging the greatest superpower -- Critiques of the commodification of knowledge and abilities -- Conclusion -- 4 International distribution of power and state strategies -- International distribution of power in education and science -- Primary and secondary education -- Higher education -- Scientific research -- Research, development, and applications

In this lucidly-written introduction to the topic, Sylvia Kraemer draws upon her extensive experience in government to develop a useful and powerful framework for thinking about the American approach to shaping and managing scientific innovation. Kraemer suggests that the history of science, technology, and politics is best understood as a negotiation of ongoing tensions between open and closed systems. Open systems depend on universal access to information that is complete, verifiable, and appropriately used. Closed systems, in contrast, are composed of exclusive and often proprietary feature.