Global Nanotechnology Regulatory Governance from a Network Analysis Perspective

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a proliferation of nanotechnology regulatory initiatives, developed to ensure responsible development of nanotechnology applications. This article examines the emergence and diffusion of environmental, health and safety (EHS) policies dealing with nanotechnology. Drawing on a citation network analysis of global nanotechnology regulatory governance, the article analyzes the role of key organizations at multiple levels and their interplay in initiating and diffusing occupational safety and health policies. It shows that private international standard-setting organizations become ‘centers of information’, which play a strategic role as intermediaries that diffuse national policies globally. In this process, these centers help to shape supranational policies. Such an understanding of the role of international private standard-setting organizations sheds a new light on the current debate over the privatization and internationalization of EHS governance.

Keywords: nanotechnology regulation, interactions, fragmentation, policy diffusion, social network analysis