Introduction. From Sputnik to Chernobyl
Science and the European left during the Cold War
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21475876 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ettore Costa (0000-0002-0037-3742, Scuola Superiore Meridionale, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History of European Ideas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0191-6599 • E-ISSN: 1873-541X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01916599.2026.2697361 |
| OpenAlex | W7167028277 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
This special issue examines the complex and evolving relationship between science and the political Left in twentieth-century Europe. It argues that science functioned both as an instrument of political action and as an ideal of rational order, shaping left-wing visions of modernity, progress and democracy. Drawing on the concept of partisan visions of science, it analyses how political actors mobilised scientific authority within ideological and electoral frameworks. The contributions use case studies to situate these dynamics within a broader historical shift from the mid-century’s technocratic optimism to the post-1970s ‘risk society,’ tracing how the Left’s faith in progress gave way to scepticism amid ecological crises, anti-nuclear activism and postmodern critiques of rationality. By linking political history with Science and Technology Studies (STS), the article explores tensions between expertise and democracy, the rise of counter-expertise and the challenges of scientific authority. Ultimately, it argues that while the Left once identified science with emancipation, science has been recast as a source of planetary risk, especially in the Anthropocene. The enduring ambivalence of scientific modernity continues to shape progressive politics, raising the question of whether a new synthesis between science and the Left remains possible
Cold war · Government (linguistics) · Period (music) · Work (physics) · European history and politics · International Science and Diplomacy · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
Reason after Its Eclipse
The Radiance of France
The Future of the World
Das Ende der Zuversicht?
The Age of Social Democracy
La France nucléaire
Risk Society
From Resistance to Co-Management
Regimes of Historicity
One-Dimensional Man
Confronting Nuclear Risks
The Western European Left and the First Moon Landing
Whoever launches the biggest Sputnik has solved the problems of society? Technology and futurism for Western European social democrats and communists in the 1950s
The West German and Italian Left in the “Two Cultures” Debate
The Climate of History in a Planetary Age
Emancipation in the Industrial Age
Alvin Weinberg and the Promotion of the Technological Fix
The Climate of History
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |