Keywords: genetically modified crops, publics, controversy, democracy, STS

“Elusive Publics; Understanding Techno-Scientific Controversy and Democratic Governance in the GM Crops Debate”

This PhD thesis investigates the public controversies about the risks of transgenic crops in India and Europe. Combining the perspective of Science, Technology and Society Studies with political science concepts, the thesis shows how publics are continuously constructed by the actors in this controversy. This draws our attention to the wider epistemological, normative, and political dimensions of technological innovation in agriculture. In times of populist politics, this thesis makes a valuable contribution to understanding the implications of the construction of publics for democratic politics.