Risks,rights and regulation: An overview

In contemporary social science debate the notion of risk society and the theory of globalisation have merged into a single view of the predominantly negative consequences of technological change. Globalisation theory, emerging from world systems theory, has addressed fundamental cultural and social features of the global system, but has so far neglected important aspects of medical technology, drug industries, health regulation and markets for body parts. These developments could be conceptualised as 'iatro-globalisation'. This article is critical of many aspects of the contemporary sociology of risk, especially because 'risk' is typically poorly defined and confused with 'hazard'. The article considers how notions of risk and regulation could be seen as a global dynamic of medicine and health care. The question about global risks and their control is fundamentally a question about politics, namely the possibility of global governance and the protection of rights.