Globalizing Physics: One Hundred Years of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. An Introductory Essay

In this “Introduction,” the editors sketch the rationale and process leading to the volume as well as its main themes. The volume discusses the history of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) through contributions addressing both general developments and specific cases that highlight key aspects of IUPAP’s role in both physics and international affairs. Four themes emerge from the book’s chapters. First, the question of IUPAP’s function and modes of operation in the changing historical context with several authors understanding the institution primarily as a science diplomacy organization. Second, the role of IUPAP in the scientific realm, focusing especially on standardization, education, disciplinary, and sub-disciplinary boundary work, and community formation in physics in the international arena. Third, to what extent IUPAP’s history was special even though the historical context and the political issues were the same for all scientific unions of the ICSU family. Finally, the relations between individual agency and institutional inertia in shaping the unfolding of the institution as well as the function IUPAP played for specific individuals.