Seminar
Science superpower(s) and science diplomacy
- Date
- Friday 20 March 2026
- Time
- Series
- CWTS Research Seminars
- Location
-
Willem Einthoven
Kolffpad 1
2333 BN Leiden - Room
- Online & common rooms at CWTS, with speaker on site.
About the seminar
This talk uses large-scale bibliometric evidence to rethink what it means to be a scientific superpower in the twenty-first century. It moves beyond traditional input and output indicators to foreground an epistemic understanding of scientific influence, examining how configurations of collaboration, citation, and thematic specialization reshape the global production of knowledge. The talk argues for a polycentric perspective on the world science system, tracing the emergence of multiple, interdependent centers of epistemic authority rather than a single core–periphery hierarchy. It concludes by reflecting on how such a reconceptualization of the global network of science can inform more nuanced approaches to science diplomacy.
About the speaker
Dr. Cassidy R. Sugimoto is Tom and Marie Patton Professor and School Chair in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.