Science, Technology and Global Governance

The ways in which governments organize their science and technology intelligence and policies and their research advisory structures and resources is becoming increasingly important. In turn, the contract between science and democracy is being rapidly defined. This work discusses these issues.

Science, technology and innovation have long been key factors in the competitive advantage of nations. Today, however, the new international political economy is being increasingly driven by science and technology in new ways. Integration, globalization and internationalization have all become watchwords for a series of dynamic processes in which science and technology are deeply implicated. As a result, not only are the policies of national governments being exposed in terms of the limits of their sovereignty, but science and technology are being increasingly implicated in a wide array of public issues - ranging from security, privacy, development and economic growth to employment, environment, foreign policy and geopolitics. Clearly, in today''s emerging world, the ways in which governments organize their science and technology policy, their science and technology intelligence, and their research advisory structures and resources matter more today than ever before. In turn, the contract between science and democracy is being rapidly redefined. This book is the first to comprehensively discuss these critical issues.