ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology, the science of the very small, figures prominently in the study and practice of environmental politics and policy as an important technological innovation that brings great promise yet potentially high risks. The purpose of this entry is to describe and explain some of the problematic aspects of nanotechnology as a concept and an enabling technology, and to show how nanotechnology relates to key questions of environmental politics. The entry reviews some of the evidence behind some current theoretical debates, and characterizes governance of the nanotechnology sector as multilevel, but with gaps, both within and between important policymaking communities in North America, the European Union, and the developing world.
