State of the Field: Scientific Internationalism during the Cold War

ABSTRACT

This article offers a state‐of‐the‐field assessment of the historiography of scientific internationalism during the Cold War, focusing on three connected problems: the reconceptualization of science diplomacy, the emergence of ‘techno‐dissent’ and the ethical turn in the history of science and technology. It draws attention to recent scholarship, which has re‐situated scientific exchange within structures of power, security and international organizations, challenging the assumption that science functioned as a ‘bridge’ above politics. This article foregrounds a specifically European trajectory that remains insufficiently integrated into global historiography: through the Helsinki process and the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, scientific mobility, publication, institutional affiliation and professional integrity became increasingly articulated as human‐rights claims. This development broadened dissent beyond overt political opposition and recast scientific cooperation as an arena in which political legitimacy could be both sustained and challenged.