‘Quasi-Nations’: The Scientific Community as a Component of a New World Order

Abstract

In the title of this chapter reference is made to the scientific community, but I have primarily in mind the segment of it that I know best and to which I belong, namely the community of theoretical physicists and mathematicians, and, more specifically, those of them who work on Non-linear Evolution Equations and Dynamical Systems (NEEDS). This community is reasonably well-defined; it includes persons who by and large know each other personally and/or through the scientific literature, and who, most importantly, share a common set of scientific interests and knowledge. It is a highly international community, with a substantial participation from the former Soviet Union, North America, Europe (East and West, North and South), Japan, China, India, Australia, South Africa, Latin America and indeed the entire world.