Cold War fostering of scientific elites: International Youth Olympiads in chemistry and physics 1967–1984

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses two secondary school competitions – the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) and the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) – as platforms for early elite fostering in science between the years 1967 and 1984. It argues that the two arrangements can be understood as one of many Cold War arenas of the time period. The article further discusses how participation in the competitions in its various forms – the pre-selection, the preparations, the scientific exams, the celebratory activities, the more leisure-adjusted parts – contributed to form practices of distinction that separated the contestants from other same-aged individuals of their generation. The identities and self-images that the pupils were encouraged to develop came from a multilayered blend of both national and international discourses. Consequently, a certain kind of Cold War-specific elite fostering took place that reflected the interwoven character of science, education and politics during the second half of the conflict.