BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND POWER: THE EVOLVING NEXUS OF SCIENCE, ECONOMY, AND GOVERNMENT IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Abstract

This paper investigates the structural relationships between science, economy, and government under conditions of contemporary global uncertainty. The accelerating pace of technological innovation, intensifying geopolitical rivalry, post-pandemic fiscal and industrial restructuring, and mounting pressure to address the climate crisis have collectively destabilised the institutional arrangements through which scientific knowledge is produced, funded, applied, and governed. Drawing upon science and technology studies, political economy, and comparative public policy, the paper maps the principal axes of tension in this tripartite relationship: the contested boundary between scientific autonomy and political authority; the competing imperatives of open knowledge sharing and strategic technology protection; the distributional consequences of knowledge-intensive growth; and the governance deficit exposed by rapid advances in dual-use and general-purpose technologies. At the same time, the paper identifies and evaluates emerging frameworks for productive coordination among these domains, including science diplomacy, mission-oriented innovation policy, and multilateral regulatory cooperation. The analysis maintains strict analytical neutrality, privileging neither any particular model of political organisation nor any national or regional perspective. The central argument is that durable progress — scientific, economic, and social — requires the deliberate cultivation of trust, transparency, and mutual accountability among scientific communities, market actors, and governmental institutions.