The co-production of nuclear science and diplomacy: towards a transnational understanding of nuclear things

ABSTRACT This paper proposes diplomatic studies of science as a new field of research, which sheds light on actual diplomatic processes as an integral part of knowledge making and presents the notion of nuclear science and diplomacy as co-produced. Science and diplomacy display fundamental similarities: scientists attempt to make knowledge produced locally seem global, thereby achieving universal epistemic order, while diplomats endeavour to maintain political order on a global scale that accommodates the local concerns of their country. In particular, the co-production of nuclear knowledge and political nuclear order has characterised the post-World War Two period. Hence, the making of global political orders includes the emergence of relevant diplomatic actors, which comprise not only sovereign states but also non-state actors, such as international organisations or individual experts. This paper claims that nuclear history provides a suitable ground for cross-fertilisation between the history of science and diplomatic history.