Sanders replies: These letters provide a welcome alternative viewpoint to my support for scientific conferences independent of politics. The central disagreement between me and the writers of these letters is whether a conference should be held completely independently of the host nation’s politics—provided of course that safety of participants is guaranteed—or whether political matters, such as banning people based on citizenship or human rights violations, should militate against organizing such conferences.
I support the goal of the universal right of all scientists, regardless of citizenship, to participate in open scientific meetings, and equally support the goal of universal respect for human rights. The question before us then is whether it is better to hold conferences, even under compromised conditions, or not to hold them, with the hope that the lack of engagement will drive change.
In our complex world, we need the yin and the yang of political and cultural engagement. Sanctions and boycotts have a place, but scientists in every country have a need for contact with others with whom to share ideas, to collaborate, and to learn and teach.
In the sports, music, and science worlds, we are seeing exchanges that somewhat transcend politics. This year the Summer Olympics were held in China, and the New York Philharmonic played a concert in North Korea. In 2007 the 38th International Physics Olympiad was held in Iran. These events are important in bringing together athletes, musicians, and scientists, but also in catalyzing change in our global society.
The letter writers have in common the view that holding these conferences is tantamount to appeasement. If they think that threatening to cancel a conference or holding it once and refusing to do so again is an effective tool for creating a better world for science, they may do so, either on their own or with some allies. Personally I regard threats and cancellations as counterproductive. Perhaps the letter writers see a way forward that I do not see.
As I write this letter (1 October 2008), I am returning from the First International Iran Summer School on Quantum Information, which I co-organized and which featured top international speakers. Sixty-eight students chose to participate, including several international students; unfortunately Israelis were forbidden. In our imperfect world, the students were grateful for the opportunity to learn, and the speakers for the opportunity to share knowledge. Despite the compromises, the school was a positive event that built scientific discourse independent of politics but constrained by reality.
