Reflexive co-evolution and governance patterns

This chapter attempts to broaden the notion of governance so as to be able to include a larger variety of patterns of governance and governance arrangements than is usual in the literature. An important insight from historical and socio-economic studies of technological change is that 'technology' and 'society' are deeply intertwined. The development of new technologies is a process in which science, technology and society co-evolve. It does not just involve the creation of a new artefact with promising performance that is sent out into society. In the 1970s and 1980s, new technologies such as recombinant DNA and biotechnology in general, or nuclear power, were subjects of societal contestation. There are increasing interactions, manifesting in public dialogues and calls for 'responsible development', which are now common in nanotechnology. The notion of 'early warning' emerged in the early 1960s in the debate around Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring.