Meet the Team
Amalia Ribi Forclaz
Professor of International History and Politics, Geneva Graduate Institute
I am a Professor in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland.
My current research interests lie in the history of agriculture and labour, as well as in the history of development and international organisations, agricultural expertise, rural movements, seed transfers and pesticide governance (consult here my publications). I explore some of these themes in my recent publications, including my latest book, Cultivating Social Peace: The International Labour Organization and the Problem of Agriculture, 1920s–1950s, published by OUP in February 2025.
Principal Investigator
Corinna R. Unger
Collaborative Partner
Professor of Global and Colonial History (19th and 20th centuries), European University Institute
I am Professor of Global and Colonial History (19th and 20th centuries) in the Department of History at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.
In recent years, I have carried out research on the interconnection between decolonisation and development (consult my publications here). My book International Development: A Postwar History (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018) presents some of my findings. Currently, I am working at the intersection of global and environmental history, with an emphasis on agriculture, forestry, and natural resources.
Elife Biçer-Deveci
Post-doctoral researcher
Researcher, International History and Politics, Geneva Graduate Institute
I am a historian and a postdoctoral researcher in this project. I have studied at the University of Zurich and hold a PhD from the University of Bern.
My previous research projects focused on the history of the international women’s movement, the anti-alcohol movement and international debates about substance addiction, and public health policies in the 20th century (consult here my publications).
Margaux Guigal
Research Assistant
PhD Candidate in International History and Politics, Geneva Graduate Institute
I am a PhD candidate in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. My dissertation explores the development of the French future-thinking method Prospective and its evolving role between the 1950s and 1980s (click here to know more about my PhD project).
With a background in the history of science, expertise, and international organisations, I joined the Chemical Crossroads project in February 2025 as a Research Assistant, focusing on occupational health issues related to pesticides.
Letizia Gaja Pinoja
Research Assistant
PhD Candidate in International History and Politics, Geneva Graduate Institute
I am a PhD candidate in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. My dissertation explores the colonial origins of Swiss chocolate, with a particular focus on Ticinese chocolate makers and cacao traders active across Europe in the late 18th century. Through this work, I have developed expertise in early modern history, commodity and commercial history, agricultural history—especially relating to cacao—as well as Swiss colonial history (click here to know more about my PhD project).
Drawing on my acquired knowledge of agricultural history, I joined the Chemical Crossroads project in February 2025 as a Research Assistant, focusing on the use of pesticides in forestry.
