Description
The announcement made by Chinese scientist He Jiankui in 2018 regarding the creation of gene-edited babies marked a significant moment that has influenced the global regulatory landscape of human germline genome editing (HGGE) technology. Following this event, an international consortium of ethicists and researchers, including some pioneers in CRISPR/Cas9 technique, advocated for a temporary five-year global moratorium on the clinical application of HGGE. Despite extensive discussions and debates on this topic, the existing literature lacks a detailed analysis of the interactions among stakeholders that have shaped the current global regulatory landscape for HGGE technology in the aftermath of the incident. By employing the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), this paper argues that the current regulatory landscape is predominantly influenced by the precautionary coalition utilizing the internal shocks of 2018 to reinforce their policy core beliefs and secondary aspects. This study adds value to the field of International Relations (IR) by delving into coalition-level dynamics that impact the governance of emerging technologies.
