Research Access: Scholarship versus National Interest

Research access to foreign countries has become increasingly problematic. Because research is seen as potentially damaging to national interests or the interests of local researchers, foreigners' access to research sites may be restricted. Claims to rights to carry out scientific endeavors come into conflict with claims to rights to make access conditional or to deny access. The following issues or sticking points have provoked conflicting interpretations of rights: where, within a foreign country, research may be done; what topics may be studied; what types of research are acceptable; who shall study a given problem; who shall be supporting the research; and who shall benefit from it. In the absence of clear-cut agreement about rights, access has to be negotiated, by governments or organizations or individual researchers. Different kinds of reciprocal concessions are necessary, depending on the relationships between the countries involved, for example, between the United States and the Soviet Union or between the United States and Third World countries.