Convergence or mediation? : Experts of vulnerability and the vulnerability of experts’ discourses on nanotechnologies – a case study

Since 2004, risk has been criticized as too abstract and all-inclusive of a category. Moreover, the concept of risk is not precise enough to describe the potential issues related to the development of nanotechnologies. Instead, the experts of technological development speak more about risk communication. Within the field of nanotechnologies, they even redefined this expression in February 2005 in relation to the question of the societal acceptance of nanotechnologies. Risk communication is about to gain stakeholder acceptance of policy decisions, whereas public and stakeholders are encouraged to participate actively in the communication process through public consultations, hearings, etc.

Thus on the one hand, the category of risk has been pragmatically nuanced in order to better highlight the vulnerability of the communication on nanotechnologies. On the other hand, this vulnerable communication is not the result of a deficit of information. It is based on the idea of participation, where the vulnerability relies on the social groups specialised in the design, the application, and the diffusion of nanotechnologies within society.

How is this participation possible, and what does it mean? We develop this question in the framework of a comparative survey on experts in the development of nanotechnologies in Grenoble (France) and Hamburg (Germany).

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Experts of vulnerability and the vulnerability of experts’ discourses on nanotechnologies