Robert Falkner

home | publications | research | teaching | phd supervision | contact 

Falkner, Robert (ed) (2007) The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food: Diplomacy, Trade and Law (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan).

ISBN: 9780230001251

Publisher's page: [link to Palgrave].

Description:

Genetic engineering - the controversial technology that allows scientists to manipulate genes in living organisms and produce new plants and animals - is at the heart of an intense global conflict. The search for a working international regime on biosafety has been complicated by rising transatlantic and North-South tensions over the burgeoning trade in genetically modified (GM) crops. At stake are not just the environmental and health risks involved in the production of GM food, but also questions about whether international society is able to govern risky technologies in an era of economic globalization.

This timely and comprehensive collection brings together experts from the fields of international relations, environmental studies, trade and international law to examine the sources of international friction and to explore the prospects for international cooperation, offering a provocative insight into the new politics of global governance.

Contents:

Introduction: The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food; R.Falkner
 

PART I: STATES, FIRMS AND NGOS IN THE CREATION OF THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY
1. International Cooperation against the Hegemon: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; R.Falkner
2. Transnational Corporate Interests in International Biosafety Negotiations; J.Clapp
3. NGO Strategies and Influence in the Biosafety Arena, 1992-2005; B.Arts & S.Mack
 

PART II: GLOBALIZATION, CORPORATE POWER AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
4. Corporate Power and 'Bounded Autonomy' in the Global Politics of Biotechnology; P.Newell
5. The Political Economy of Food Aid in an Era of Agricultural Biotechnology; J.Clapp
 

PART III: THE TRANSATLANTIC DIVIDE AND ITS GLOBAL IMPACT
6. Biopolitics in the US: An Assessment; K.L.Kollman & A.Prakash
7. The Transatlantic Agbiotech Conflict: A Policy Problem and Opportunity for EU Regulatory Policies; L.Levidow
8. Competition for Public Trust: Causes and Consequences of Extending the Transatlantic Biotech Conflict to Developing Countries; T.Bernauer & P.Aerni
 

PART IV: GMO POLITICS OF GM FOOD IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
9. The Multi-level Governance of GMOs in Mercosur; K.Hochstetler
10. Internationalising Biotechnology Policy in China; R.Falkner
 

PART V: BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATION, THE WTO AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
11. The Biosafety Protocol and the WTO: Concert or Conflict?; G.E.Isaac & W.A.Kerr
12. The Cartagena Protocol and the Development of International Environmental Law; R.Mackenzie
 

Reviews and Endorsements:

'This is an outstanding collection of essays that makes a major contribution to both scholarship and to understanding public policy. I can think of no other volume that presents such as comprehensive, integrated analysis of the complex scientific, political , economic and legal dimensions of GMO policies. It is essential reading.'

David Vogel, George Quist Professor of Business Ethics and Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

'This masterful collection explores every angle of this quintessentially global controversy... It is essential reading for teachers and students of global politics along with anyone wishing to improve their understanding of the complex global politics surrounding GM food.' -

Robyn Eckersley, University of Melbourne, Australia

'Overall, this collection gives a thorough view of the interests and strategies of the various actors and the main points of concern over GM Foods...This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the present and future governance of GM food.'

From the review by Shane Mulligan, Political Studies Review

'Overall, this is a skilfully assembled and judiciously structured collection...this volume probably represents the most inclusive work on the international politics of GM food to date. Both newcomers to this field and well-versed scholars need look no further for an admirably well-rounded analysis.'

From the review by Hannes Stephan, International Affairs

'...a valuable resource for GMO sceptics and supporters alike. Both will find chapters that are factually reliable, analytically careful, and conceptually challenging.'

From the review by Robert Paarlberg, Journal of Commercial Biotechnology