Pesticides Past and Present: A Comparative Study of Pesticide Use. Introduction

This theme issue examines the slow evolution of regulatory frameworks on the use of pesticidesat both national and international levels by looking at the political and societal dynamicsthat drove regulation attempts or opposition to regulation. Bringing together scholars fromhistory and the social sciences, the issue compares case studies from different countries andregions and across different time periods, from Francoist Spain in the mid-twentieth centuryto democratic Norway in the late twentieth century, and from an international organizationbased in France in the 1970s and 1980s to a contemporary cardamom plantation in southernIndia. The theme issue shows that paths towards regulation of pesticides over the course of thetwentieth century differed wildly across national contexts, and were strongly dependent onpolitical, economic, technological, but also ideological factors. Engaging with different perspectives,scales, and actors helps us understand that the slow regulation of pesticide use was notthe result of a lack of knowledge or lack of coordination, but the result of conflicting interestsacross different political systems, actors, and regions.