Governance challenges of “research security” and the role of communicative events in “de-risking” Sino-German science cooperation

Intensified geopolitical conflicts and changes in the global geoeconomic balance of power have led to an increasing focus on the strategic relevance of science and research for national (economic) security interests. This is reflected in the emerging science policy concept of “research security”, which has led to an ongoing reassessment of European science relations with China in particular. Against this background, this chapter examines the implications of “de-risking” in Sino-German research cooperation. Drawing on insights from communicative constructivism on the communicative constitution of organizations and institutional fields, as well as recent research on “communicative events”, this chapter identifies research security as a comprehensive governance challenge that is primarily addressed through event-based communication. Events not only provide information about what is communicated about research security. Rather, different event formats, actor constellations, and the extent and design of publicness allow for the observation of the far-reaching implications of “de-risking” Sino-German cooperation for individual organizations and the entire field of German science. The events reflect, but also address, the governance challenges that arise from institutional autonomy and decentralization, as well as from the conflictual interplay in a refiguration process between a cross-border networked science system and the demands of national (economic) security policy.