Properity perspectives for Australia

Angel Calderon discerns that collaboration has been critical for researchers, institutions, and nations to achieve common goals and to prosper. However, international collaboration is under threat given the seismic geopolitical shifts we are witnessing.

Previously he has argued that we have been evolving from a bipolar world, noting a shift away from the dominance of North America and Western Europe and towards Asia and the Pacific. He also observed that we are also witnessing that the Global North is accommodating to the rise of the Global South.

In fact, we are now seeing the fracture of the world order that had propelled modern science to be pivotal for the development and flourishing of liberal economies. The consensus of collaboration and cooperation which has prevailed over the past 70 years between countries linked by cultural or linguistic affinity is rapidly deteriorating.

University leaders and researchers need to adapt accordingly and be prepared to navigate ambiguity and uncertainty over many years.

A review of universities and researchers’ alliances, modes and methods of collaboration across borders will be necessary, particularly establishing safeguards to ensure these remain sound, viable, and integral in the pursuit of common objectives.

The global higher education and research scientific community is entering into unchartered territory, and this is likely to result in detrimental impacts on the sustainable development agenda.

Angel Calderon

Read full analysis: https://futurecampus.com.au/2025/02/28/global-research-collaboration-under-siege