Mobilizing the Transnational History of Knowledge Flows. COVID-19 and the Politics of Research at the Borders

ABSTRACT This paper mobilizes a transnational approach to intervene in the unfolding history of the Covid-19 pandemic, advocating for nationally based, interdependent initiatives that push back against the fragmentation of national responses and, eventually, national protectionism. Focusing on the governance of digital technologies for data sharing, and using two case studies as illustrations, we describe the emergence of transnational realms of scientific and political cooperation, that were structured to foster interdependence, to bypass insular nationalism, and to subvert digital feudalism. By critically reading these case studies through the lens of the transnational flows of knowledge across borders, we exploit the intellectual and political agendas embedded in this historiographic approach.