Governing the Politics of Research and Knowledge Security: Rethinking Knowledge, Power, and Global Academic Cooperation

Abstract

In recent years, knowledge security and research security have moved from relatively technical policy concerns to central organizing concepts in research governance. Governments, funding agencies, and universities increasingly frame academic cooperation through the lens of risk, protection, and strategic competition, particularly in relation to sensitive and emerging technologies. Despite their growing prominence, these terms remain conceptually ambiguous, normatively contested, and unevenly defined and implemented across political and institutional contexts. This panel begins with the premise that research and knowledge security are not neutral policy tools but political constructs that shape how knowledge is valued, governed, and restricted. Security-oriented frameworks are reshaping academic governance at multiple levels, from international collaboration regimes and funding conditions to institutional compliance practices and the everyday work of scholars. Across different regional contexts, geopolitical competition has intensified scrutiny of academic cooperation, sharpening tensions between openness and protection. Concerns around dual-use research, critical infrastructures, data governance, research integrity, and academic values increasingly influence decisions about partnerships, mobility, and access to research networks. The panel invites contributions that critically examine how institutions and governments define and operationalize research and knowledge security; how concerns about critical or emerging technologies reshape research collaboration; and how geopolitical dynamics affect global academic cooperation across different regional contexts. We particularly welcome contributions that examine how research and knowledge security reshape academic autonomy, mobility, and research practices, and that offer conceptual insights into evolving configurations of knowledge, power, and security. Empirical, comparative, and theoretical approaches are all encouraged.

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