Introduces the notions of ontological uncertainty and of problematization sites for the analysis of innovation and discusses political implications.

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...

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.