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Patricia Wrightson, The National Academies, pwrightson@nas.edu

The impact of science and technology on politics (and vice versa) is older than politics itself, and the issues that are ripe for examination are as fresh and dynamic as the transformations occurring throughout the sciences. This contrast yields up exciting topics for further inquiry. On the one hand are the ancient and enduring questions of politics and governance-what is justice? What constitutes the equitable distribution of scarce resources? What is freedom? What are individual and collective rights and responsibilities? On the other hand are the scientific revolutions in genetics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, etc., that could help to redefine, as well as answer, some of these questions. And there is a 'third hand'-the conditions on the ground: climate change, the increasing scarcity of natural resources, environmentally-induced mass migrations, the resource-consumption divide between 'north' and 'south' to name just a few. This three-handed approach is well suited to the 2009 APSA Annual Meeting theme on Politics in Motion: Change and Complexity in the Contemporary Era and thus to new scholarship in science, technology and environmental policy.

This section welcomes paper and panel submissions that examine aspects of the interrelatedness of theory, policy, scientific and technological innovation, and Earth's limits. STEP also welcomes proposal submissions that move forward the state of the field. While all section-relevant proposal topics will be considered, those related to this year's general theme, Politics in Motion, will be given special attention. The section looks forward to proposals from political scientists, but also from those representing other social and physical science disciplines that are grappling with the relationship of science and politics.