This paper explores the history of avifauna surveys conducted by Japanese ornithologists on islands in the Pacific Ocean from the 1910s to the 1960s. Using various sources, including scientific reports, memoirs, and biographies of Japanese ornithologists, it highlights how the naming and interpretation of the Pacific in their ornithological research shifted over time, as well as the relationship between these changes and the shifting sovereignty of the Japanese state in the region. The paper also pays attention to how these political and scientific shifts were closely linked with the reconfiguration of trans-Pacific ornithological networks amid the geopolitical change, including the end of the Pacific War (1941-1945) and the subsequent U.S. occupation of Japan. In this paper, I argue that the avifauna surveys conducted before, during and after the war were crucial to integrating Japanese ornithologists into the American-led “Pacific science” in the 1950s, in which Japanese ornithologists successfully established themselves as key participants in this new trans-Pacific ornithological network. By highlighting the importance of the Pacific in the postwar reconstruction of Japanese ornithology, this paper suggests that the Pacific focus could be a useful means to interrogate the transnational and transwar aspects of Japanese postwar science.

The following work examines the diplomatic mediation activities of the Atacama Desert exploration from 1840 to 1880. During the 1840s, the Chilean government began to sponsor the Atacama exploration to survey its natural resources, arid biodiversity, and territorial boundaries. Their scientific endeavors received substantial support from the Chilean diplomatic missions in Europe. The role of its diplomats was critical for developing its publications and eventually negotiating and socializing the Atacama Desert within European political and intellectual circles. Its emergent arid ecology contributed to refabricating the global networks of scientific knowledge.

Vicente Perez Rosales (1807 – 1886) and Alberto Blest Gana (1830 – 1920) will be the leading two diplomats to focus on. Their activities assisted Ignacio Domeyko (1802 – 1889), Rudolph Philippi (1808 – 1904), and José Amado Pissis (1812 – 1889) naturalists' requests for scientific equipment and contacts with printing houses. The travelogues and scientific periodicals articles published in English, German, and French alongside the exchange of museum objects resulted from long diplomatic efforts on European soil. Thus, embassies became hubs of knowledge transmission, mobilizing transnational channels between Europe and Chile.

Consequently, diplomatic mediation activities were critical to putting the driest desert on Earth to reach a global audience, blurring the lines of science, politics, and society during the nineteenth century.

Keywords: Atacama Desert, nineteenth-century, knowledge transmission, diplomats, naturalists.

This paper aims to explain the role of mathematician Pedro Vicente Maldonado in the first French
Geodesic Mission (1735-1744), influencing the legitimization of Newtonian science, the development
of French science and Spanish scientific reform during Eighteenth Century. Two events had seminal
influence in the Franco-Spanish relationships during that century: the Spanish War of Succession
(1701-1714), and the debate around the shape of the Earth.
On one hand, after the Bourbon dynasty won the succession conflict over the Habsburg Spanish
faction, the French model of government was introduced in the Spanish kingdom. On the other hand,
the debate over the shape of the Earth was important in the Académie des Science de Paris to improve
French commerce through maritime navigation. The arrival of the Bourbon dynasty to power in the
Hispanic Monarchy was seen as an opportunity by the French to achieve both goals.
The Geodesic Mission arrived in the Spanish American territory of Real Audiencia de Quito in 1736,
returning to Europe in 1743. During their stay in Quito, the members proved Newton correct,
influencing the spreading of Newtonianism during Eighteenth Century. Maldonado played an important
role during the expedition because he gave a map to Charles Marie De La Condamine for moving
around Quito. Helping La Condamine had seminal importance in Maldonado’s life because the
Académie elected Maldonado as corresponding member in 1747.
The connection between Maldonado and the Geodesic Mission is important for understanding scientific
international relations during the Eighteenth Century, as this paper aims to explain.

The International Geophysical Year (IGY) encompassed the study of eleven strategically significant scientific areas, with nearly 70 countries participating in what was celebrated as the "greatest scientific research project" of its time. The IGY remains a remarkable initiative for exploring science diplomacy in the mid-20th century. However, it is crucial to recognize that the participating countries did not—and still do not—hold equal positions in the global order. While the IGY was a global initiative, it was primarily directed by countries from the Northern Hemisphere, with institutions such as UNESCO and, more specifically, the Comité Scientifique de l’Année Géophysique Internationale (CSAGI) assuming central leadership. These organizations had a global mandate but were rooted in Northern Hemisphere contexts.
In contrast, countries in the Southern Hemisphere engaged through regional organizations and often established their own committees to manage IGY-related activities locally. For these countries, such committees were far from anecdotal; they played a pivotal role in bringing together diverse actors, setting objectives, and interpreting CSAGI’s directives. The IGY thus facilitated a multilayered, global effort in scientific research, presenting a unique opportunity to examine science diplomacy. By analyzing these layers, this study seeks to discuss whether distinct understandings of science diplomacy emerged from the Global South, understanding some of the world's asymmetries beyond colonial and postcolonial frameworks.