Regulatory harmonization and agricultural biotechnology in Argentina and China: Critical assessment of state‐centered and decentered approaches

Abstract

The international harmonization of technology-related regulations seeks certain norms across diverse contexts. Harmonization efforts are based primarily on the promulgation of state-centered command and control forms of regulation, though they may also be accompanied by the diffusion of more plural approaches that are decentered from the state. We contrast the ways in which the "proper" use of transgenic cotton seed technologies is understood in harmonizing regulations with the way this technology is used in practice in regions of Argentina and China. We find divergence that poses challenges for both state-centered and decentered approaches to harmonization. While state-centered approaches are blind to some critical processes on the ground, decentered strategies are found wanting in situations where norms remain deeply contested amongst actors situated in very uneven power relations. In both cases, we find that establishing and securing norms that are socially just and environmentally sustainable means attending much more explicitly to the political economies in which technological practices actually take root.

Understanding the rise of the regulatory state of the South*

“…If the micro‐politics of the regulatory state are taken seriously, the implication is that macro‐politics will play a more fluid and less functionalist role in broader theorising about the regulatory state. Kernels of such an approach are visible in some of the very recent literature mentioned in the literature review, exploring for example the diffusion of transnational regulatory norms (Buthe & Mattli 2011; van Zwanenberg et al . 2011) or regulatory impact assessment (Peci & Sobral 2011).…”

Examining the Canadian Government's Resistance to Including Socioeconomic Concerns in Genetically Modified Seeds Regulation: A Policy Transfer and Multilevel Approach

“…While some contend that the export market assessment elaborated by Argentina clearly instituted a domestic innovation (van Zwanenberg et al., , p. 174), others suggest that such an initiative is likely to be adopted by other jurisdictions (Newell, , p. 28). Because an attempt at policy transfer implies a foreign initiative from which another policy is developed, this section provides additional information regarding the regulatory innovation that has taken place in Argentina.…”

The Inclusion of Nonsafety Criteria within the Regulatory Framework of Agricultural Biotechnology: Exploring Factors that Are Likely to Influence Policy Transfer

“…The Argentinian export market assessment is perceived as being a policy initiative that may eventually inspire other jurisdictions who are also exposed to similar issues (Newell, , p. 28; Van Zwanenberg et al., , p. 174). In this regard, it is interesting to note that a policy transfer process through learning does not need to be drawn from a powerful jurisdiction that has the capacity to go it alone with more stringent regulations.…”