Global infrastructuralism considerably shaped the development of science in the 19th and 20th Century. On the one hand, the meteorology is one of classical examples of a new science promoting the global approach and cooperation. On the other hand, a new type of robust research infrastructures was born during the Cold War, their format ranging from international institutions such as CERN to monitoring networks initiated and granted by WHO. Nevertheless, both centuries are considered as centuries of the rise of nationalism (E. Hobsbawm) promoting national sovereignity and national interests. How did such seemingly contradictory phenomena play out in the evolution of science? How should we define the role of science diplomacy under these circumstances? And how did the fast expanding architecture of the monitoring networks/institutional infrastructures interplay with the political dynamics of the Cold War?
Cold War historiography has been recently subjected to twofold revision – first, it has been positioned within larger processes of historical change, beyond the simplistic perspective of East-West antagonism and, secondly and subsequently, the focus moved away from the two superpowers and bipolar Europe to global affairs and broad cultural context.
How can we describe the role of various intergovernmental, international, transnational and supranational organizations, such as the EEC, UNO, NATO or the COMECON (CMEA), in the implementation of this kind of infrastructures in Cold War context? We welcome all papers dealing with European history as well as the history of the Third World countries or any aspects of the global history.
The Panel is a part of the ICOHTEC 46th Symposium that will take place Katowice, Poland, on 22-27 July 2019, the main theme of the symposium will be “Technology and Power”. The panel is co-sponsored by the DHST Commission on Science, Technology and Diplomacy.
Proposals must include: (1) a 300-word (maximum) abstract; and (2) a one-page (maximum) CV. Abstracts should include the author’s name and email address, a short descriptive title, 3-5 key words, a concise statement of the thesis, a brief discussion of the sources, and a summary of the major conclusions. Please send your proposals to olsakova@usd.cas.cz – the deadline: 10th February 2019.