The governance of human genetics: Policy discourse and constructions of public trust

Abstract

The collection of practices now commonly understood as 'biotechnology' poses a challenge to traditional mechanisms of regulating science and technology, just as it challenges traditional practices of science. The task of regulation is to reconcile the often conflicting political demands of protecting science, economy and the public interest. Public trust is the key measure of political success or failure. The purpose of this paper is to use policy discourse analysis as a vehicle for exploring the politics of the relationship between human genetics governance and public trust. An analysis of 30 policy documents produced six identifiable discourse streams relevant to public trust. These findings will be discussed, and an analysis of their impact on effective governance presented in conclusion.