Quantum Innovation and Geopolitical Transformation
A Historical-Comparative Analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19215652 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pedram Rashidi (0000-0002-3753-3367, The University of Queensland, corresponding author), P Omkar Nadh (0000-0002-8297-3679, The University of Queensland) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Minerva (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-4695 • E-ISSN: 1573-1871 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11024-026-09647-w |
| OpenAlex | W7161631108 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 57 |
Quantum theory emerged as a European intellectual endeavour in the early twentieth century; today, more than thirty countries have established national initiatives on quantum innovation, collectively mobilising tens of billions of dollars in public and private investment. This surge reflects the perceived economic and security significance of quantum technologies. Drawing on scholarship from the history and geopolitics of science and technology, this paper examines the entanglement of quantum innovation and geopolitical transformation. We trace the evolution of quantum physics from its inception in Germany, through its militarisation during the world wars and the Cold War, to its current role in a globalised and contested innovation landscape. We argue that advancements in quantum innovation have been deeply embedded in the global geopolitical structures and processes over the past 125 years. By situating quantum innovation within its broader historical and political contexts, we demonstrate that quantum physics and its industry and military applications have always been intertwined with broader (geo)political and economic conditions. In this way, our paper provides important insights into the historical pathways that have shaped current innovation landscape for quantum technologies, as well as a sense of potential future directions in the global race for quantum supremacy
Geopolitics · Globalization · National security · Politics · Quantum entanglement · Scholarship · International Science and Diplomacy · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
Weimar Culture, Causality, and Quantum Theory, 1918-1927
Economic Reform and the Process of Global Integration
Years after Bayh–Dole
Behind Quantum Electronics
The New Argonauts
Planning for science
Export Controls as Innovation Marketing? Sociotechnical Imaginaries in the Ringfencing of Quantum Technologies
China Modernizes
States of Knowledge
Neoliberalism and the Innovation/Reproduction Binary
Globalization and the Governance of Biotechnology
The globalization of technological innovation
The governance of global value chains
Neoliberalism and the geographies of marketization
Science and the State During the Cold War
Across borders
Convergence in Cold War Physics
What Research, to What End? The Rockefeller Foundation and the Max Planck Gesellschaft in the Early Cold War
Reflections on complexity, nuclear ordering and disordering over time
The innovation imperative
Time, Money, and History
Device Physics vis-à-vis Fundamental Physics in Cold War America
Building a Developmental State
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |