Quantitative Analysis of Regulatory Discourses on Agricultural Genetic Engineering: An Exploration and Empirical Application of Critical Theory

Abstract

This dissertation takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining public policy. On one level, the dissertation is a case study of the use of methodological triangulation to understand the values and beliefs of people within a regulatory system associated with a complex social issue: modern biotechnology/genetic engineering. On another level it is a deep exploration and a practical application of Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action.