Public Policy and Nanotechnology

Throughout history, dramatic societal shifts due to the development of new technologies have inevitably been influenced by governmental promotion and regulation. Railroads, the telegraph, nuclear power, and the Internet have all been profoundly influenced by governments, policymakers, and concerned citizens. If nanotechnology is to transform societies, economies, and personal lives in fundamental ways as many scientists and economists predict, then a proactive engagement among these different entities will be necessary.

The development and potential impacts of new technologies is intricately linked with the political climate. Government entities and policymakers can offer tax incentives to private businesses to promote new science and technology development. Conversely, governments can fund research directly at government-run laboratories and research universities. However, the role of government is not merely to foster research. Government bureaucracies and policymakers also have a responsibility to protect citizens from potentially damaging or destructive technologies. When policy objectives are in direct conflict with scientific development, a potential result can be the suppression of the potential benefits of scientific discovery. Assessing the potential negative impacts can also involve the public. Civic engagement can guide policy in ways that directly benefit members of society. Usually, the politics of science are expressed through public policy that emanates from the perspectives and compromises between government entities, concerned citizens, and elected officials.

The United States Government, for example, plays a crucial role in the development and acceptance of new technologies in the US. Everything from nylon to the Internet has been developed in part with monies and scientists involved with government research. However, just as people and cultures vastly differ around the world, so too do their bureaucratic and regulatory systems. Not all governments around the world have the same priorities or adhere to the same sets of belief systems.

It is important to consider how the role of the nation-state is being reduced through increased globalization. Multinational corporations such as IBM, General Electric, and Siemens operate around the world with budgets larger than many countries. Such occurrences create new relationships and concerns between nations, capital, corporations, and citizens. Furthermore, as the US “War on Terror” illustrates, threats to national security emanate not from any particular nation-state or leader but from loosely organized coalitions of multinational combatants. While it continues to be important, the emerging role of the nation-state in national and international policy making is undoubtedly transforming. This poses increased challenges for regulation and citizen engagement.