2006/01/01 by John Krige
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #International Science and Diplomacy #Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
paper · doi:10.1086/507140
openalex publication_date 2006/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
The promotion of the benign atom as an instrument of American foreign policy and hegemonic ambitions was important to scientists and policy makers alike who sought to win “hearts and minds” in the early years of the cold war. The distribution of radioisotopes to friendly nations for research and medicinal purposes in the late 1940s was followed by Eisenhower’s far more spectacular Atoms for Peace initiative, announced at the United Nations in December 1953. This chapter describes the polyvalent significance of the diffusion first of radioisotopes, then of reactor technology, notably at the famous conference in Geneva in 1955. It places particular emphasis on the role of scientists and their appeal to scientific internationalism to promote national scientific leadership. It is stressed that openness and security, sharing knowledge or technology and implementing regimes of surveillance, were two sides of the same coin.