KNOWLEDGE, POWER AND THE MODERN INTERNATIONAL: INSIGHTS FROM PORTUGAL–CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION

Abstract

This study provides a critical appraisal of the evolving relationship between Portugal and China in the domain of science and technology (S&T). It challenges functionalist and technocratic approaches to international S&T cooperation by advancing an extended analytical framework inspired by Shilliam’s conceptualisation of the “modern international”. The article argues that S&T cooperation is shaped not only by institutional arrangements and policy instruments, but also by historically constituted hierarchies, colonial and semi-colonial legacies, and asymmetries in power, resources, and epistemic authority. The study concludes that the “modern international” provides a fruitful framework to capture the historical depth and political complexity of contemporary S&T cooperation between a global innovation powerhouse and a semi-peripheral European country.