Human life science and agricultural biotechnology in transition: an introduction

Abstract

This chapter provides historical context to the biotechnological landscape of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Under the Soviet system, innovation systems were state-based and extremely interventionist, and during transition there was a policy vacuum and economic instability that threatened their future. However, biotechnological innovation systems have emerged from transition relatively unscathed. Questions remain about how CEE countries engage with new knowledge and conditions that come with EU accession and biotechnology development. It seems that most countries in the region have not embraced the governance agenda and are expert-led, and sometimes are unable to marshal effectively the global context of many technologies, to national scientific, economic and cultural advantage. Contributions to this volume also suggest that the governance dynamics around biotechnologies are similar in many respects to other countries, but are shaped, like in other contexts by national and local politics