Riikka Nisonen, FM

Ph.D. student
Department of History
FIN-33014 University of Tampere
e-mail: riikka.nisonen@uta.fi

Scientific relations between Czechoslovakia and West Germany 1963-1973

My PhD work, titled Scientific relations between Czechoslovakia and West Germany 1963-1973 centres on investigating the transfer of knowledge between East and West from the point of view of socialist Czechoslovakia. The research aims at analysing the official and unofficial ways of transferring knowledge and discussing the relation between science and politics. The research is divided into two periods; before and after the Prague Spring, which enables me to follow changes in the national and international contexts. The main focus is on natural sciences, which were expected to play an important role in the development of a socialist society.

The research is carried out at two levels: the macro level will focus on official decision-making, i.e. negotiations, agreements and official science policies. The micro level sheds light on individual intentions that did not always correspond with official goals and motives. The material of this research will mainly consist of archival sources and interviews.