International scientific cooperation: The continentalization of science

By transforming science into a vast single market for the exchange of research products, the globalization of scientific activity effects the mechanisms by which countries enter into mutual relations. It is no longer sufficient to conduct research jointly; research must also, and perhaps above all, be conducted within the strategic space of the network. In practice, the network takes the form of a cluster of nations and emerges in response to various determining factors or constraints. This does not, however, result in arbitrary criteria of association with the network: the distance from one country or group of countries able to play a regional or continental “governance” role, cultural or linguistic affinities, geographic proximity, the recognition of common interests, the existence of political agreements on cooperation are all grounds for linkage or association. In short, the geography of exchanges is changing before our eyes. This study describes as “world-science” marked by the collectivization of the centre, “centrality” being defined not by a national monopoly, but by the “hard core” of a transnational network, stratified on a continental or subcontinental basis.