“Opening Up” and “Closing Down”

Discursive deference in the governance of science and technology is rebalancing from expert analysis toward participatory deliberation. Yet, growing recognition of social agency in technology choice is countered by persistently deterministic notions of technological progress. This article addresses these two conflicting notions by distinguishing between “appraisal” and “commitment” in technology choice and highlights contrasting implications of normative, instrumental, and substantive imperatives in appraisal. Focusing on the role of power, it identifies key commonalities transcending the analysis/participation dichotomy to show how greater appreciation is required—in both analytic and participatory appraisal—to facilitating the opening up (rather than the closing down) of governance commitments on science and technology.