THE ROLE OF STANDARDIZATION IN THE SHAPING OF A VISION FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnologies are considered as emerging technologies. However, there are already products in the market that claim to incorporate them. This has contributed to the growing interest in the regulation of this field. In this paper, we first introduce the question of regulation in nanotechnologies, and then describe the standardization process and ISO more specifically. This introduction is followed by the main point of the paper: We show, the specific role that the ISO TC 229 plays in the beginning of the shaping of a collective vision for nanotechnologies. We point to the organization and re-organization of TC 229 that allows actors to build a collective representation of the evolving field and build legitimacy at the global level. We argue that beyond the production of standards, this aspect is central in an emerging field that will impact regulators as they design new rules.