International Networks and Competition

Belle Époque science was simultaneously international and nationalist. Researchers collaborated across borders while competing for national glory. The Nobel Prizes, beginning in 1901, intensified both tendencies. French scientists won early recognition but worried about German dominance.

Scientific conferences brought together global researchers. The International Congress of Physics in Paris (1900) defined fundamental constants and units. Yet national rivalries simmered. French and German scientists disputed priority for discoveries. Language barriers—French declining as science's lingua franca—created additional tensions.

Women scientists found international networks especially valuable. Excluded from national academies, they created alternative communities. The International Council of Women included scientific sections. Marie Curie's correspondence network connected female researchers globally.

Colonial scientists occupied ambiguous positions. Vietnamese studying in Paris absorbed French science to serve their homeland. Indian mathematicians like Srinivasa Ramanujan (who worked in Cambridge) showed non-European mathematical genius. Science's universalist claims confronted racist realities.

The alliance between French and Russian scientists, paralleling political rapprochement, produced significant exchanges. Russian women, banned from home universities, studied in Paris. Ivan Pavlov visited French physiology laboratories. Scientific diplomacy preceded political treaties.