Globalisation and the International Governance of Modern Biotechnology Mapping Paper Globalisation and The Governance Of Biotechnology

This article focuses on the disjuncture between regulatory problems generated by the rapid development of, and subsequent trade in crop GMOs, and the ability of existing mechanisms of international governance to manage human and ecological risks associated with the new technology. The article assesses the ways in which globalisation of economic activity is reconfiguring patterns of production, investment, regulation and political authority as they relate to the governance of biotechnology. Our collective ability to provide social and environmental protection from risks associated with GMOs must be understood in relation to the global economic processes which create the technology and influence policy processes set up to manage it. This requires an enhanced understanding of the reciprocal relationship between intra and inter-firm decision-making and global decision-making, is required.