5 - Reorientation

Summary

A reorientation in American science and diplomacy is clear during the 1970s. Part of the reorientation was domestic: decentralized and networked, applied science and development took off across private industry, leading American diplomacy to support international patent rights and intellectual protections. Managing access to science and technology figured ever more prominently in American foreign relations. The other reorientation was geopolitical: the Nixon administration hoped to split the communist “bloc” and science diplomacy both signified détente with the Soviet Union and presaged normalization with the People’s Republic of China. The space race morphed into a competition over commercial satellite launches and communications after the moon landing, while the PRC was America’s largest bilateral science partner by the end of Reagan’s first term. In the Middle East, multiple administrations used access to secure alliances with Saudi Arabia and Iran while recycling American payments for high oil prices after the Yom Kippur War and embargo. At the same time, the United States and Israel pioneered three still-existing bilateral research initiatives, illustrating the key role science plays in US-Israeli relations and the longevity of American science diplomacy.