Herbert Gottweis, Brian Salter and Catherine Waldby (2008) The Global Politics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Science: Regenerative Medicine in Transition. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. 225pp, £50, 978 0 230 00263 0
Herbert Gottweis is a Professor in the Political Science department of University of Vienna, Austria, Brian Salter is a Professor of Politics at King’s College, UK, and Catherine Waldby is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. Together, they note that regenerative medicine has burst upon the scene in recent decades, and this book investigates the dynamic interactions involved in the global struggle for scientific, economic, and national advantage. The authors draw from a wide range of interviews, along with primary and secondary sources, investigating the dynamic interactions between national regulatory formation and the global biopolitics of regenerative medicine and human embryonic stem cell science.
The book traces the global relationships between the scientific and commercial trajectory of stem cell research; the contentious status of embryos and stem cells in ethic discussions; the cultural tensions present in these debates; and the geopolitical complexities of regulation. In the process, the authors discuss the underlying dynamics of discursive economies of hope, ageing populations as markets for regenerative medicine, the development of global technoscapes and high-knowledge economies, the process of biomedicalization, and shrinking national budgets for healthcare and social security programs. They largely contend that due to these pressures, states are proverbially forced to fund and develop attractive climates for Embryonic Stem Cell science. Investigating transnational regulatory bodies such as the EU and UN, the authors contend that they shape, organize, and modify the debates around stem cell science.
In the introduction, the authors note that they have written this book with the hope that they could contribute to specific understandings of the global stem cell arena, as well as to understandings of global regenerative medicine in the age of biotechnology. I consider their attempt a job well done. Scientifically conversant, well written, and entertaining at the same time, I recommend this title for those who have interests in biotechnology in general, and the globalization of biotechnology in particular.
Bradford McCall
Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA
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