Managing knowledge, governing society: social theory, research policy and environmental transition

Table of Contents:


1. Introduction: Epistemic mutations
2. Managing knowledge, governing society
3. Systemic disruptions, systemic responses
4. The Neoliberal paradigm and beyond
5. The emergence of a Research and Innovation paradigm
6. The Research and Innovation paradigm. The case of Japan
7. A new version of the Research and Innovation paradigm
8. Reflexive processes, governing models
9. Conclusion. The fifth sphere, new modernity

This book examines how these policies have evolved and how they can be extended and reformed to respond to present and future environmental constraints. It studies the mutation of the conception, organization and role of science and technology in the evolution of industrial societies and explores the future of these developments. The book offers three unique lines of enquiry. The first is to focus not specifically on economics, sociology, political science or history, but on knowledge creation from an institutional and reflexive point of view. The second is to establish a convergence between the British school of science and technology studies and the research trends opened by the work of Michel Foucault. Both introduced trans-disciplinary and policy-oriented research associating case studies, long-term perspectives, and theory. The third is to consider climate change as the overwhelming challenge of our time. The book is an insightful guide for students, scholars and researchers across the humanities and social sciences, including philosophy, political science, law, economics, business, and media.