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Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society
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Models of Transparency and Accountability in the Biotech Age

Kjell Andersson

Karita Research, kjell.andersson{at}karita.se

Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Raul Espejo

Syncho Ltd

Patricia Ann Fleming

Creighton University

Clas-Otto Wene

Wenergy

Today, societal decisions in areas of complexity are often dominated by one of three alternative ways: (a) by scientists, nowadays often in combination with commercial interest; (b) by politicians alone; and (c) by simply "laissez-faire," or "the tyranny of small steps." None of these three ways of decision making is fully democratic because they do not create enough awareness among the politicians and the general public. One reason is that the decision making basis becomes too narrowly framed and fragmented. Biotechnology will continue to feed society with new democratic challenges for many years, perhaps decades, to come. The initially promising ideas of participative and deliberative democracy do not seem to solve the awareness problem. Instead, the authors propose an approach with more structured efforts for awareness building with transparency and participation taking place within the framework of representative democracy.

Key Words: biotechnology • risk communication • transparency • public participation • public sphere • expert role

Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Vol. 26, No. 1, 46-56 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0270467605284347
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