Division, Withdrawal, and Non-Cooperation: Contested Moments of Breakdown in International Scientific and Technological Organizations (2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Organization: Peking University
Event: 2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting
Symposium Title
Division, Withdrawal, and Non-Cooperation: Contested Moments of Breakdown in International Scientific and Technological Organizations
Background
The Department of History of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Peking University?https://hstm.pku.edu.cn/en/ ? is organizing a symposium for the 2026 Joint Meeting of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS) and the History of Science Society (HSS). The symposium examines moments of rupture and contention within international scientific and technological organizations.
Such organizations are often idealized as neutral infrastructures that facilitate global knowledge exchange, yet their histories are marked by fractures and disputes. The panel centers on forms of division—especially withdrawal and non-cooperation—as both objects of analysis and vantage points for understanding international collaboration. It follows how scientific norms are negotiated and how political tensions surface when organizational boundaries are challenged, and shows how power relations and epistemic hierarchies structure global scientific cooperation.
Ruptures are treated not as anomalies but as indicators of the fragility of consensus and of the contested character of global scientific governance. The focus on breakdown directs attention to concrete episodes of failure and to the institutional arrangements that produced them, rather than to idealized narratives of smooth cooperation.
Conference Theme
Shifting Perspectives: Plural Worlds, Contested Sciences
Submission Guidelines
We invite scholars from all relevant fields to contribute to this symposium. Proposed papers should:
• Present original, unpublished research suitable for a 15–20 minute presentation.
• Include a title and an abstract (max. 2,000 characters, approx. 250 words). To support linguistic diversity, non-English submissions are welcome but must be accompanied by an English translation.
• Provide the author’s full name, institutional affiliation, and a brief biography (200–300 words).
• Engage substantively with the symposium’s thematic focus, including but not limited to:
1. Exit mechanisms or withdrawal from international scientific organizations
2. Stalled collaborations and the negotiation of standards
3. Disputes over representation and committee micro-politics
4. Impacts of sanctions or geopolitical ruptures on scientific exchange
5. Case studies from any historical period or geographical region
Submission Details
Deadline: November 30, 2025, 24:00 (UTC+8)
Email: caoqi@pku.edu.cn
Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by December 1, 2025, and will receive assistance with conference registration.
Contact
For inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Cao Qi
Email: caoqi@pku.edu.cn
Caoqi