Herbert Gottweis, is professor at the department of Political Science at the University of Vienna and directs the Life Science Governance Research Platform. With regard to the Asia-Pacific, he is working on biobanks and stem cell research in China, and is visiting professor at the United Nations University, Tokyo, in addition to his work on the stem cell fraud case in South Korea (which his keynote presentation will be about: see abstract below). His research focuses on transformations in public policy, and in particular on governance challenges in the field of life-sciences. His book publications include Gottweis Herbert, Salter Brian and Waldby Catherine (2009): The Global Politics of Stem Cell Research: Regenerative Medicine in Transformation, London: Palgrave; Gottweis, H/Petersen A (2007), Biobank Governance in Comparison (London: Routledge); Gottweis, H., (1998), Governing Molecules. The Discursive Politics of Genetic Engineering in Europe and in the United States (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press).
Keynote presentation abstract
Explaining Hwang-Gate: South Korean Identity Politics between Bio-Nationalism and Globalisation
I explore the scientific fraud case of the South Korean stem cell scientist Woo-Suk Hwang, which I interpret as a struggle over political identity. The South Korean state supported Hwang´s research hoping to establish Korean scientific-technological leadership in biotechnology, but it combined this globalization strategy with an identity politics built around the Korean people. The emerging bio-nationalism exceeded traditional ethnic nationalism insofar as the traditional ethnicity marker of “blood” was displaced by biologically scientifically grounded notions such as the stem cell or the oocyte. These new biological markers defined national identity and embedded the transformative potential of modern bio-medicine to be put into the service of Korean bodies and the nation’s economic future. Bio-nationalistic mobilization became hegemonic in South Korea in 2000 and undermined the democratic process, giving rise to violations against core principles of good governance. This bio-nationalistic narrative was challenged by an attempt to define political identity through the ideas of political citizenship, liberal democracy, and participation.