The sciences played a critical role in American foreign policy after World War II. From atomic energy and satellites to the green revolution, scientific advances were central to American diplomacy in the early Cold War, as the United States leveraged its scientific and technical pre-eminence to secure alliances and markets. The growth of applied research in the 1970s, exemplified by the biotech industry, led the United States to promote global intellectual property rights. Priorities shifted with the collapse of the Soviet Union, as attention turned to information technology and environmental sciences. Today, international relations take place within a scientific and technical framework, whether in the headlines on global warming and the war on terror or in the fine print of intellectual property rights. Science and American Foreign Relations since World War II provides the historical background necessary to understand the contemporary geopolitics of science.

'In this intelligent and original book, Greg Whitesides brings needed attention to the role of science in post-1945 American diplomacy. Drawing on deep research in a range of sources, including scientific reports and publications, Whitesides shows with great clarity and skill how the United States leveraged its scientific and technical expertise to help other nations but also to advance the perceived needs of US foreign policy. Not infrequently these twin aims were in conflict, and the study illuminates the often mixed results of America’s scientific dominance.'

Fredrik Logevall - Harvard University, Massachusetts

'Whitesides has written an indispensable book on a topic long neglected: the role of science in American foreign policy from the World War II race to develop the atomic bomb to the Trump administration's rejection of international efforts to control climate change. Sources are almost encyclopedic in nature, ranging from scholarly monographs and articles to the ‘Foreign Relations of the United States’ series and declassified CIA documents. The story begins with a description of the importance of Allied collaborative research during the years 1940–45, followed by US use of technology as a Cold War weapon. Particularly fascinating are materials dealing with Soviet geneticist T. D. Lysenko, the crisis Sputnik created, the failed Alliance for Progress program in Latin America, US-Israeli scientific relations, and Chinese physicist and spy Wen Ho Lee. … works such as this revolutionize the writing of American diplomatic history. Highly recommended.'

J. D. Doenecke Source: Choice