Comments on the potentials of the notion of "experimentation" as a vehicule for the renewal of the theoretical repertoire of political sociology.

Presents a case study on public participation in controversies on nanotechnologies in France, and proposes an analytical typology.

Studies a number of aspects of the reform of public finance and public management in France (LOLF), with special attention to science and technology policy, using a pragmatist approach to the sociology of the state.

Describes two examples (in France and in the US) of replication of the Danish procedure of the consensus conference for public participation in nanotechnology, and argues that emphasis on the evaluation of the participatory procedure should not be made at the expense of richer analysis of the...