Negotiating the “Geo” of Cold War Geopolitics: Seismology as Diplomacy during the International Geophysical Year (1957–58)

The International Geophysical Year (1957–58), a collaboration of sixty-seven countries across fourteen disciplines to study the Earth, provides a compelling case study for examining the complex interplay between the Cold War’s geopolitical alliances and scientific practice. This article focuses on Mexico, with its rich seismological tradition and geographical proximity to the United States, as a unique vantage point to explore this intersection. By analyzing the collaborations, research planning, and data-sharing efforts of Mexican seismologists and their international counterparts, the article investigates how Cold War geopolitical tensions influenced scientific practice during the International Geophysical Year and how scientific practices, in turn, offered new language for geopolitics. As scientists organized hemispheric geophysical practices and data management, science emerged as both a manifestation of US hegemony over the Americas and a tool for negotiating this hegemony. This article delves into how Mexican geophysicists diplomatically navigated a global scientific endeavor in the multipolar Cold War, drawing on documents from the Comité Spécial of the International Geophysical Year, the Pan-American Committee for the International Geophysical Year, and the Mexican Committee for the International Geophysical Year. We argue that the International Geophysical Year served as a platform for global diplomacy, enabling Latin American scientists to assert their countries’ sovereignty and challenge the United States’ dominant geophysical data management system in the Western Hemisphere. This article highlights the underlying tensions surrounding data sovereignty and scientific collaboration amid the Inter-American Cold War, shedding light on the International Geophysical Year’s significance in shaping international relations.