This special issue stresses the importance of material culture in diplomatic studies of science and technology. In our studies, objects are considered powerful tokens of complexity in diplomatic encounters and of asymmetry in international relations. The contributors are committed to theorizing about the role of objects in diplomatic exchanges during the postwar period and, at the same time, the role of diplomacy in constituting the materiality of nuclear things. Our approach combines attention to the political and diplomatic nuclear history with recognition of the roles played by nuclear artifacts throughout the whole spectrum of diplomatic activities. On the whole, we argue that the material approach should be located at the center of the study of nuclear history and the diplomatic exchanges that made it possible.

中文翻译：

---

核外交中文物的物质文化和政治

本期特刊强调了物质文化在科技外交研究中的重要性。在我们的研究中，物体被认为是外交接触复杂性和国际关系不对称的有力象征。撰稿人致力于对战后时期物体在外交交流中的作用进行理论化，同时对外交在构成核事物实质性方面的作用进行理论分析。我们的方法结合了对政治和外交核历史的关注，以及对核人工制品在整个外交活动范围内所发挥的作用的认可。总的来说，我们认为物质方法应该位于核历史研究和使之成为可能的外交交流的中心。