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Abstract: The decade of the 1970s has recently received a lot of attention in historical research. It is commonly described as ‘a turn of an era’, a time of deep economic, social and cultural transformation. Where do the sciences feature in this picture of the 1970s? This spotlight sheds light on an understudied period of time in the history of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this introduction we aim to illuminate Western Europe's place on the map of Cold War science and, specifically, to draw attention to the differences in and the diversity of Western European Cold War science in comparison to the United States. By discussing narratives of Cold War science in small states and asking how they fit into the European condition, we suggest that the fact of being a small state affects the conditions for and the scope of Cold War science. As a whole, this special issue also emphasizes the importance of the spatial dimension; that is, the significant dependence of Cold War science on geographical relations and geopolitical interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]