ABSTRACT
Ever since Francis Bacon at the dawn of the modern age, science has been presented as harboring the promise of providing the solution to the most intractable problems faced by mankind and the natural world. In the course of modern history it has also been targeted as a useful tool in dealings related to the growth of “modern, independent, democratic” societies beyond the West in the post-colonial world. Different from scientific cooperation assumed to take place between relatively equal countries, from the late 19th century onwards, science as development assistance compounded with philanthropy was embraced by Western powers as the royal road contributing to the growth of non-Western country capacities.
