Regulatory science, Europeanization, and the control of agrochemicals

This article addresses issues of regulatory convergence and Europeanization as they have developed within the agrochemicals sector. Taking the United Kingdom as a case study, the article considers the continuing importance of local and national factors within systems that are ostensibly internationa l and standardized. In particular; the article shows how the embedded socia l relations of regulatory science in the United Kingdom, including institut ional practices, judgments of expertise, and established relationships of t rust, result in a "nation centeredness" and divergence of regulatory cultur es despite the putative development of a harmonized European framework. It is argued that as a consequence, the claimed universalism of scientific cul ture in this area is in tension with the local conditions of its practice a nd enactment.