Description
In the first two decades of the Cold War, few areas of technoscience were more salient than nuclear research. The international demand for knowledge in this area was deemed foundational, transferable to other scientific pursuits, and strategically vital. To meet that demand, national laboratories in the United States (US) built ambitious training programs and opened their doors to specialists from abroad. European states in particular benefited. Seizing the opportunity, they sent trainees to the US, subsequently integrating nuclear training into their own educational traditions. The result was a transatlantic synergy that strengthened Western alliances while safeguarding national interests. Nuclear training had become an integral part of Cold War geopolitics. International affairs are typically studied through the decisions of governments. Nuclear Training in Cold War Geopolitics offers a novel perspective by shifting attention from diplomacy to laboratories and the social practices of exchange. Barbara Hof draws on sources from multiple countries to trace the interplay of technoscience, education, and diplomacy across the Atlantic, exposing what counted as relevant knowledge and who was permitted to acquire it. Nuclear training was not solely a mechanism for multiplying knowledge; laboratories functioned as diplomatic actors, exercising soft power that shaped careers, institutions, and international alignments for decades. This story connects to the forging of the knowledge society under Cold War imperatives and continues to shape international affairs in our time.