Series Editor: Etienne Aucouturier (CEA – Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)
“Science and Politics” (« Science et politique ») is a bilingual series founded on the premise that scientific inquiry—while grounded in a commitment to objectivity—is never entirely detached from politics. Science unfolds within human societies, pursued by researchers motivated not only by epistemic curiosity but also, at times, by institutional or collective imperatives.
Given its capacity to produce actionable knowledge about the material world, science functions as a political instrument of exceptional power. Although political, religious, and moral belief systems shape collective identity and provide interpretive frameworks, science offers an empirically validated means of observing and acting on the physical world. Yet science often is appropriated to serve the purposes of those same belief systems — sometimes reinforcing them, sometimes transforming them. The twentieth century has offered tragic illustrations of this potential, particularly through the use of scientific progress by political powers for the purposes of war.
The “Science and Politics” series welcomes interdisciplinary contributions from across the humanities and social sciences, including history, philosophy, sociology, political science, economics, law, anthropology, geography, psychology, communication and media studies, and information science. The series is especially receptive to work exploring the ethics of science and technology, institutional dynamics, the influence of public policy on research, and the deployment of scientific knowledge in contexts of conflict and war. This list is not exhaustive: the series also welcomes other relevant perspectives from the humanities and social sciences, including those informed by insights from the natural sciences.
Publications may take the form of monographs, edited volumes, or scholarly essays, and are subject to peer review by an international scientific committee.
This collection is bilingual (French and English). We welcome manuscripts in English: please do not hesitate to send us your original material in English (email)