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Culture and the Democratization of Risk Management

The Widening Biotechnology Gap Between Canada and France

Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada

Christian Rouillard

University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

This article considers culture in the explanation of the gap between North America and Europe in the area of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Thanks to a comparison of Canada and France, the article distinguishes between two cultures of GMO risk management: the culture of managerial rationality (Canada) and the culture of integration (France). The first culture provides proponents of scientific neutrality the tools to preserve itself from external criticisms. In contrast, the second culture creates a proper environment for its contestation from within. When the democratization of science became an issue in the 1990s, the culture of integration transformed itself significantly, allowing debates within risk management processes. This change contributed to the gap between Europe and North America over GMOs.

Key Words: political culture • risk management • democracy and risk • biotechnology policy • genetically modified organisms (GMO)

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