Big Science Collaborations; Lessons for Global Governance and Leadership

Mark Robinson

Global Policy, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 66-80

Abstract: Big Science communities have been remarkably effective in evolving complex processes and mechanisms to enable international collaborations. Major powers such as the People's Republic of China, Russia and the USA, who are fierce rivals in other domains, form lasting alliances. Three of the most relevant case examples are the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) community, the International Thermonuclear Experiential Reactor (ITER) nuclear fusion project community and the International Space Station (ISS) community. Beyond Gridlock theory identifies eight pathways through and beyond gridlock and their mechanisms. It is through the combination of these pathways that international collaborations can be initiated, maintained and delivered. Extensive field work in each of the three case study communities reveal winning combinations of pathways for Big Science collaborations. Shifts in major powers’ core interests and multiple, diverse organisations and institutions coalescing around common goals emerge as the two core pathways. They are supported in their implementation by two enabling pathways: innovative leadership and innovative funding. The relationship between all four provides clues on mechanisms that can be used to good effect in other international relations domains that are caught up in the debilitating global gridlock phenomenon.

Date: 2021
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