World Politics Review features are original, in-depth analyses of key public-policy questions by leading experts. This feature focuses on science diplomacy in particle physics, Antarctic science and outer space.
Summary: Though often the object of state competition, science and the technologies that emerge from it have also been used as the basis for international cooperation. Particle physics has been particularly successful at harnessing science diplomacy to advance our understanding of the material world while capturing the popular imagination. In Antarctica, by contrast, where science was used to forestall geopolitical competition, the treaty system governing polar activity is coming under increasing political pressure. And miles above Earth, the International Space Station is an example of how interdependence can trump sovereignty in even the most sensitive of domains.
