Plants, organicism, and politics : Ariane Dröscher: Plants and politics in Padua during the age of revolution, 1820–1848. London: Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology Series, 2021, 300 pp, 126.59 € HB

The relationship between science and politics has been the subject of heated debate among historians and philosophers of science for quite some time. For instance, in his essay entitled Science and Politics as Resources for Each Other (Ash 2001), historian of science Mitchell Ash proposed that politics and science should be considered as reciprocal resources. This idea, which arose from the analysis of the external conditions of knowledge production and the sociological programs of science, has gained more significance in recent times, given the growing intermingling of science, society, and politics in contemporary technoscience. Ariane Dröscher’s Plants and Politics in Padua during the Age of Revolution provides a valuable contribution to the general debate on science and politics. Furthermore, this book aims to develop some hitherto little-studied elements of this relationship.