Introduction

Abstract: Science had long been a matter of public display, but in the Cold War its spectacular and competitive dimensions became more pronounced. Nuclear reactors, rockets, and other techno-scientific feats promised progress and peace while simultaneously operating as powerful instruments in a global struggle for ideological dominance. In Cold War Greece, a country firmly aligned with the Western bloc yet deeply marked by political polarization and ideological conflict, scientific achievements and technological promises became central vehicles for public persuasion, social negotiation, and international positioning. Although Greece's Cold War history has been extensively studied in terms of politics and diplomacy, the communicative and cultural power of science and technology has remained largely underexplored. Addressing this gap, the contributions to this special section place science at the center of analysis and attend to both Western and Eastern forms of engagement. New analysis demonstrates how scientific knowledge moved beyond specialist communities and entered the public sphere through the press, exhibitions, diplomacy, social welfare initiatives, and transnational mobility. In the conflict between East and West, science emerged as a contested cultural resource used to negotiate international rivalries, domestic struggles, and political authority, with the spectacle of techno-scientific achievements entering Greek society and becoming a visible element of its Cold War experience.