Whether it is nuclear power, geo-engineering or genetically modified foods, the development of new technologies can be fraught with complex ethical challenges and political controversy which defy simple resolution. In the past two decades there has been a shift towards processes of Participatory Technology Assessment designed to build channels of two-way communication between technical specialists and non-expert citizens, and to incorporate multiple stakeholder perspectives in the governance of contentious technology programmes. This participatory turn has spurred a need for new tools and...

This book presents a critical policy analysis of the issue of radioactive waste management in the United Kingdom, with an emphasis on how lessons learned from this case can be applied internationally, specifically to similar waste management processes in the USA and Canada.

The first part provides an historical overview of radioactive waste management from the 1950s up to the present day in the UK as a whole, and makes comparisons between the English and Scottish governments different policy strategies. The second part presents a theoretical framework for analysing nuclear...

Whether it is nuclear power, geo-engineering or genetically modified foods, the development of new technologies can be fraught with complex ethical challenges and political controversy which defy simple resolution. In the past two decades there has been a shift towards processes of Participatory Technology Assessment designed to build channels of two-way communication between technical specialists and non-expert citizens, and to incorporate multiple stakeholder perspectives in the governance of contentious technology programmes. This participatory turn has spurred a need for new tools and...