The Neo-Academic Cold War: Political Traumas and Transnational Paranoia

A new Cold War is emerging and in turn a Neo-Academic Cold War that reflects emerging geopolitical rivalries. The context of the Neo-Academic Cold War is different from the previous Cold War which featured bipolar competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for military superiority and spheres of influence that included distinct scientific and academic ecosystems. This has given way to a multipolar and complex world of rivalries and semi-autonomous silos of transnational science cooperation and science diplomacy. This paper explores the evolution of the Neo-Academic Cold War as a geopolitical story tied to a series of global traumas, including 9/11, a diaspora of war and economic refugees, the rise of neonationalism and illiberal democracies, the return of Russia and China as geopolitical adversaries to the U.S. and the European Union, the impact of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally the deleterious effects of Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency. There are winners and losers in this Neo-Cold War, specifically China and Europe are beneficiaries of America’s declining scientific capabilities and its protectionist policies. Among the loosers: open science and the ability of a global science community to mitigate or solve challenges like climate change and future pandemics.