New open access book: Science Policy Under Thatcher
UCL Press is delighted to announce the publication of a brand new open
access book that will be of interest to list subscribers: Science Policy
under Thatcher by Jon Agar. Download it free from:
http://bit.ly/317kcov
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Science Policy under Thatcher
Jon Agar
Download free: hhttp://bit.ly/317kcov
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Margaret Thatcher was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, during which
time her Conservative administration transformed the political landscape
of Britain. Science Policy under Thatcher is the first book to examine
systematically the interplay of science and
government under her leadership.
Thatcher was a working scientist before she became a professional
politician, and she maintained a close watch on science matters as prime
minister. Scientific knowledge and advice were important to many urgent
issues of the 1980s, from late Cold War questions
of defence to emerging environmental problems such as acid rain and
climate change. Drawing on newly released primary sources, Jon Agar
explores how Thatcher worked with and occasionally against the
structures of scientific advice, as the scientific aspects
of such issues were balanced or conflicted with other demands and
values. To what extent, for example, was the freedom of the individual
scientist to choose research projects balanced against the desire to
secure more commercial applications? What was Thatcher’s
stance towards European scientific collaboration and commitments? How
did cuts in public expenditure affect the publicly funded research and
teaching of universities?
In weaving together numerous topics, including AIDS and bioethics, the
nuclear industry and strategic defence, Agar adds to the picture we have
of Thatcher and her radically Conservative agenda, and argues that the
science policy devised under her leadership,
not least in relation to industrial strategy, had a prolonged influence
on the culture of British science.
Download free: http://bit.ly/317kcov