2.2.1. Social Sciences in the Cold War and Beyond

The migration of German social scientists added divisiveness and fragmented international exchange during and after WWII. During the Cold War, in 1963, mainstream US social scientists conferred to frame a middle course between the far right and the socialist frame marginalized by McCarthyism [24]. The next year, Marcuse [25] severely criticized this approach. A Jewish scholar who had been part of the Frankfurt School, Marcuse became one of the few left-leaning US social scientists during the Cold War. On the other extreme, Leo Strauss, a noted German philosopher, became the thought leader of the new conservative right [26]. Strauss criticized liberal democracy because the German democratic system made it possible for Hitler to seize power, giving rise to the Nazi regime [27].

Almost as echoes of this anti-democratic social thinking, right-leaning scholars advocated for a return to Western civilizations as foundations for collegiate undergraduate education in the US, e.g., [28,29]. They advocated restructuring the high school curriculum to emphasize a college preparatory curriculum for all students [30]. The political left in the

US also promoted this strategy for preparing all students with advanced courses in math and science previously necessary for entry to collegiate Engineering programs. Liberal scholars advocated for preparing all students for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields because of the history of tracking minorities into vocational education into vocational high school programs [31–33]. Rather than updating and modernizing vocational education, the path chosen by the EU, the US marginalized technical for working class families.

These contrasting arguments in academic discourse come into question as nationalism reemerges as a fragmenting force. For example, Brexit ushered in a reconstruction of trade agreements in the EU. European nations have benefited from trade and economic exchange within the EU—the flow of labor and products—but the UK's financial future is now uncertain [34]. Given China's ascent in world trade and strong relationships with the EU, Trump's agenda on global and Pacific trade agreements has left the US more isolated in international trade, at least before Biden's election. Biden's alliance-building with Europe during Russia's invasion of Ukraine may reshape these trade alliances, depending on China's support for Russia. Claims thrown back and forth about Nazi nationalism underlie this contemporary rhetorical battle, further accelerated by the Ukraine war.

The global appeal of the US university model further complicates the post-neoliberal political shifts [35]. Trump's criticisms of China created reluctance among Chinese students to study in the US even before COVID-19 [36]. Israeli universities have benefited from the shift in students' interests [37], illustrating that international economic and political alliances impact educational exchange.
