Science diplomacy recalls that scientific exchanges and cross-border collaboration inform the shape of international relations. It is a global phenomenon and process by which nations, international organizations and non-state actors represent themselves and their interests in the international arena.[1][2] Science diplomacy includes a number of formal or informal technical, research-based, academic or engineering exchanges. It can be seen as a subfield of
international relations[3][4][5] and typically involves at some level interactions between researchers and officials involved in
diplomacy.[6][7] Science diplomacy aims to address common problems. However, especially in times of international tensions and wars, it is unclear if and how the actual policies and associated organizations can meet the expectations placed on science diplomacy.[8]
Definitions
Science diplomacy as a discourse draws the attention of multiple actors who present diverse interpretations. The concept of "science diplomacy" is of relatively recent origin: attempts to define and classify practices as science diplomacy date from the beginning of the 21st century.[9] The term gained popularity during the Obama administration.[10][11] Before it became popular, science diplomacy initiatives were often called "
smart power" or "
soft power" by those in the field.[12] Today, historians use the term retrospectively as an analytical category to examine earlier forms and developments,[13] while the debate on contemporary science diplomacy initiatives is attended by scholars who treat it as an empirical object as well as by actors who are or have been involved in science diplomacy practices: These are
career diplomats, science counsellors/advisers, or experts to national and international decision-making bodies and politicians. Whether scientist diplomats or diplomat scientists are more effective is an open question.[14]
Along with e.g.
economic,
cultural,
digital,
data or
para-diplomacy, science diplomacy can be understood as a subcategory of the so-called
new diplomacy, as opposed to the traditional diplomacy known to date.[15][16][17][18][19] Instead of showcasing military power in international relations, public relations have become the core of
public diplomacy as a strategic trigger to position a nation, with policy
branding serving as a tool.[20]
There exists neither a clear-cut definition nor a consensus on science diplomacy's stakeholders, instruments and activities. The definition of science diplomacy draws its meaning from a compilation of different narratives, approaches and ideas of changing and sometimes contested relations between science and foreign policy and the evolution of
diplomacy and international relations per se.[21][22][23][24] In 2010, the
Royal Society and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science have coined a widely used theoretical framework. Their definition of science diplomacy describes three main types of activities:[25]
"Science in diplomacy": Science can provide advice to inform and support foreign policy objectives
"Diplomacy for science": Diplomacy can facilitate international scientific cooperation
"Science for diplomacy": Scientific cooperation can improve international relations
However, scholars have pointed out that the focus on these categories can lead to an under-representation of the use of science for competitive purposes and a mystification of science as a collaborative, rationalizing and complexity-reducing enterprise.[26][27][28] The theoretical framework of science diplomacy is under scrutiny as it grapples with the tension between idealistic goals and practical imperatives in an era characterized by new international conflicts and global crises. Most critics have emphasized the significant vulnerability of science as a public good.[29]
History
International negotiations on the environment, global health crises, geopolitical power politics, and scientific intelligence gathering are not recent concerns. International affairs and scientific exchange have a long history together. Even if not called "science diplomacy" at the time: early forms were apparent in the great
voyages of exploration and
colonization brought with them science-based diplomacy and influence.[30]
An early and widespread practice of science diplomacy is advisory work to governments. In Australia, a science advisory board was installed on the recommendation of Sir Frank Heath to the Australian Government in 1926. Heath was the Secretary of the UK Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (1916-1927) and came to Australia in 1926 to advise the Australian Government on how to set up a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as part of his suggestions for the reconstitution of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. The Australian Government agreed, and appointed
Frank Lidgett McDougall its Scientific Liaison Officer in London in 1927 to deal with questions of scientific progress and policy.[31]
Notable developments in science diplomacy also arose as the result of scientific conferences and featured the creation of international organizations. In the 19th century, the increasing specialization of disciplines prompted experts to achieve more coordination: they held international meetings to discuss the standardization of scientific methods, practices, nomenclature and units. The
International Association of Academies (IAA) was created in 1899 as a result of such efforts. At that time, European scientists played formal or informal diplomatic roles by using their networks to gain competitive advantage in international discussions on the colonization of distant territories, such as during the
Berlin Conference of 1884-1885.[32] By the end of
World War I, the academies of the
Entente Powers reorganized the IAA to deliberately exclude their colleagues from the
Triple Alliance, especially German scientists, who had massively supported military actions, including by signing the
Manifesto of the Ninety-Three. The IAA's successor, the International Research Council (IRC), was formed in 1919 and succeeded in keeping German scientists at margin. There were attempts at restablishing contacts with them, particularly through transforming the IRC into the
International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) in 1931.[33] However, the onset of
World War II compromised cooperation in the Global North. Durable links were only re-established when the war was over.[34]
American stamp of 1955 in allusion to the program Atoms for Peace
However, the United States was far from being the only state pursuing diplomatic initiatives related to either nuclear weapons or the peaceful use of nuclear energy. For example, Atoms for Peace and the
1954 Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapons test contributed to
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs intensifying its diplomatic activities on nuclear issues as part of a wider range of science-related activities, including initiating a science attaché program in 1954 and creating a dedicated Science Division in 1958.[39] In 1961,
John F. Kennedy established a science and technology cooperation agreement with Japan following appeals to repair the "broken dialogue" between the two countries` intellectual communities after World War II. That agreement helped round out a tenuous relationship at the time rooted only in security concerns.[40] Yet, even in the immediate post-World War II period, there were examples of US-Japan exchange, such as in the
co-production and cooperation between Japanese scientists and American science administrators in the founding of the
Science Council of Japan.[41]
The
Cold War involved the development of strategic scientific relations as a way to promote cooperation to the extent that it could hedge against diplomatic failures and reduce the potential for conflict without neglecting hegemonic interests.[42] The exchanges programmes between the United States and the then Soviet Union throughout the Cold War provide a well-known example. Collaborations linked the two Cold War rivals when official diplomatic connections were stalled. However, scientific exchanges also offered them an opportunity for intelligence gathering, also in Western Europe.[43] The emergence of two power blocs also saw the deployment of science and technology as a means of influencing other countries in areas such as
space exploration, geography, or the development of
fission reactors and weapons. Technical assistance programs flourished for the so-called
"Third World", economically developing countries, and potential allies.[44][45][46] In the Global South as well as the Global North, science diplomacy often functioned to mediate the circulation of knowledge and materials.[47]
Developing countries also engaged in science diplomacy as part of cross-bloc competition, such as the People’s Republic of China using everything from the development of new flood control techniques in the 1950s to the launch of its
first artificial satellite in 1970 as part of its “
people’s diplomacy” strategies. Such science-related outreach was an important part of China’s foreign relations during the decades before its
entry into the United Nations in 1971 and accompanying rapid
expansion in its normalized diplomatic relations with other countries.[48]Henry Kissinger requested, and took, several science initiatives to his talks with China. Scientists featured prominently in the early exchanges and initiatives that were a part of the
Sino-American rapprochement process leading to
normalization of relations in 1979. Exchanges related to science and technology were explicitly mentioned in the
Shanghai Communiqué.[49][50][51] This example, as well as the increasing participation of recently independent, de-colonizing countries in international technoscientific affairs, illustrate fundamental transitions in international scientific collaboration in the 1970s.[2]
Science diplomacy and international organizations
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
Science diplomacy involves the promotion of a country's interests and/or it is taken to involve the meeting of global challenges and needs. Science as a tool for diplomacy has been used for several decades by many countries around the world.[52][53] However,
international organizations are also relevant promoters and actors of science diplomacy. Science diplomacy can be seen as a form of networked and transnational governance,[54][55] including via the
United Nations system, especially via bodies such as
UNESCO.[56] Through partnerships with international science unions and national science members, the
International Science Council (ISC) (a merger of the
ICSU with the
International Social Science Council (ISSC) in 2018) focuses resources and tools towards the development of scientific solutions to the world's challenges.
In Continental Europe, two international organizations with a scientific mission are widely considered as models for science diplomacy: At the end of World War II, Europe had to rebuild itself, both politically and in terms of scientific exchange. 12 countries joined to create the
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland.[57] Following a series of meetings,
UNESCO hearings and a formal ratification, CERN was founded in 1954. At present, CERN is run by 20 European member states,[58] but many non-European countries are also involved in different ways.[59] The second example is the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), an engineering
megaproject in France, which will be the world's largest
magnetic confinement experiment when it begins
plasma physics operations.[60] ITER began in 1985 as a Reagan–Gorbachev initiative with the equal participation of the Soviet Union, the
European Atomic Energy Community, the United States, and Japan, with the post-9/11 era posing a challenge on its continuation.[61]
In West Asia, in the late 1990s several countries joined to establish
SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) with the intention to foster scientific cooperation in a region of the world that has been torn by persistent conflicts.[62] Another science diplomacy actor today is the
African Scientific Institute, created in 1967 to help African scientists reach others through published materials, conferences, seminars and provide tools for those who lack them.[63] And in 1996, countries with interests in the Arctic came together to form the
Arctic Council to discuss sustainable development and environmental protection.[64][65]
In some cases, science diplomacy is not the obvious preliminary goal of an international body but used as an important tool: The
European Union fosters science collaboration as a way to make diplomacy through "parallel means".[66] Several
EU-funded projects are currently exploring and conducting research on the topic of science diplomacy. Another example is the intergovernmental military alliance of
NATO, which in 1958 established a Science Committee and the position of a Science Advisor.[67] NATO officials sought to use the promotion of science as a diplomatic channel (or "backchannel"), especially in critical moments of the alliance’s history.[68]
Science diplomacy and non-state actors
Non-state actors who are not connected with governments have also practiced science diplomacy. For example, in 1957, philanthropist
Cyrus Eaton hosted a meeting in Pugwash, Canada.[69] The stimulus for the gathering was a
Manifesto issued on 9 July 1955 by Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein which called upon scientists of all political persuasions to assemble to discuss the threat posed to civilization by the advent of
thermonuclear weapons.[70] The meetings eventually grew and gathered the attention of high level government officials. Since then, scientists have continued to gather at the
Pugwash Conferences. Such informal, non-governmental initiatives illustrate
Track II science diplomacy.[71] A specific form of Track II science diplomacy is activism and advocacy "from below" the elitist sphere of government advice,[72] including campaigns by scientists and physicians acting beyond state regulation and outside of official diplomatic arenas.[73]
Similar to the initiative of non-state actors,
non-profit organizations exercise science diplomacy practices. CRDF Global, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, launched the
Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST).[74] initiative in 2010 in Egypt with follow-up meetings in Malaysia and Morocco in 2011. In addition to the GIST Initiative, CRDF Global has been active in the United States and in the Middle East on promoting science diplomacy through conferences, panel discussions and programs including the
Iraqi Virtual Science Library,
Maghreb Virtual Science Library, and the Afghanistan Virtual Science Library. Further, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) established the Center for Science Diplomacy.[75] Its goal is to use science and scientific cooperation to promote international understanding by providing a forum for scientists, policy analysts, and policy-makers to share information and explore collaborative opportunities. In March 2012, the center launched the quarterly publication Science & Diplomacy.[76] Others non-profit organizations, such as the
Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) have dedicated an entire portion of their website for science diplomacy related articles and events.
Many of the global challenges related to health, economic growth, and climate change lay at the intersection of science and international relations.[82] There are numerous patterns via which scientific and technological advances influence international relations, including as a juggernaut or escaped genie with rapid and wide-ranging ramifications for the international system; as a game-changer and a conveyor of advantage and disadvantage to different actors in the international system; as a source of risks, issues and problems that must be addressed and managed by the international community; as key dimensions or enablers of international macro phenomena; as instruments of foreign policy or sources of technical information for the management of an ongoing international regime; as the subject of projects and institutions whose planning, design, implementation and management provide grist for the mill of international relations and diplomacy.[83]
In the 21st century, there is a long list of specific themes for science diplomacy to address, including “the rising risks and dangers of climate change, a spread of infectious diseases, increasing energy costs, migration movements, and cultural clashes”.[53] Other areas of interest include space exploration;[84] the exploration of fundamental physics (e.g.,
CERN[85] and
ITER[86]); the management of the polar regions;[3][87] health research;[88] the oil and mining sectors;[89] fisheries;[90] and international security,[91] including global cybersecurity,[92] as well as enormous geographic areas, such as the transatlantic[54] and Indo-Pacific regions.[93] Increasingly, science diplomacy has come to be seen as a multilateral endeavor to address both global challenges and the matter of global goods, via science internationals (such as the Malta Conferences[94]); international NGOs, especially UN bodies; and various science-policy interfaces,[3] such as the U.S.
National Academies system.
Science diplomacy suggests a means for helping manage paradigmatic and disruptive change. For instance, the sheer scale of the problem of climate change has caused researchers to call for the reinvention of science communication in order to address humanity's cognitive limits in coping with such a crisis,[95] with the
International Panel on Climate Change alone constituting a science-diplomacy nexus.[3] Especially within the context of the
Sustainable Development Goals, the first calls to begin seeing science and its products as global public goods which should be tasked to fundamentally improve the human condition, especially in countries which are facing catastrophic change, are being made.[96] While both science and technology create new risks in and of themselves, they can also alert humanity of risks, such as global warming, in both cases transforming commerce, diplomacy, intelligence, investment, and war.[83] Science diplomacy challenges the way international relations operates as a field of human endeavor, presenting a ‘boundary problem’ involving actors from different social worlds.[97]
In 2009, President
Barack Obama called for partnership during his “A New Beginning” speech in Cairo, Egypt.[98] These partnerships would include a greater focus on engagement of the Muslim world through science, technology, and innovation connecting scientists from the United States to scientists in Muslim-majority countries.[99] Other strategies that evolved at that time involved the development of scientific relations between historical or potential rival countries or
blocs as a way to promote scientific cooperation to the extent that it could hedge against diplomatic failures and reduce the potential for conflict.[11][100][101][102] On March 12, 2010, Congressman
Howard Berman (D-CA) and Congressman
Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) introduced the Global Science Program for Security, Competitiveness, and Diplomacy Act,[103] which proposed an increase in the application of science and scientific engagement in US foreign policy.
In December 2018, the “Madrid Declaration on Science Diplomacy” was signed by a group of high-level experts. It proclaims a common vision of science diplomacy in the future, emphasises the benefits science diplomacy can bring to tackling the global challenges of our time and outlines the principles needed to foster science diplomacy worldwide.[104]
Whereas science diplomacy is frequently considered a
soft power tool which helps to keep dialogue lines open between states in conflict and can contribute to peacekeeping and international understanding, in times of war, science diplomacy seems to fall within the arsenal of
hard power: this became most evident in the war in Ukraine.[105][106] Sanctions are an important part of the arsenal of science diplomacy aimed at intervening in conflicts: CERN, for example, has announced the termination of its exchange programs with Russia and Belarus in 2024.[107]
Global organizations, researchers, public health officials, countries, government officials, and clinicians have worked together to create effective measures of
infection control and subsequent
treatment. They continue to do so through sharing of resources, research data, ideas, and by putting into effect laws and regulations that can further advance scientific research. Without the collaborative efforts of such entities, the world would not have the
vaccines and treatments we now possess for diseases that were once considered deadly such as
tuberculosis,
tetanus,
polio,
influenza, etc. Historically, science diplomacy has proved successful in diseases such as
SARS,
Ebola,
Zika and continues to be relevant during the
COVID-19 pandemic today.
During epidemics and pandemics, vaccines and drugs are an effective method for reducing incidence and mortality from diseases. Economically underdeveloped countries often face obstacles that hinder timely development and deployment of vaccines during times of crises, including structural barriers (which make transport more difficult) and monetary barriers. As a result, the collaboration with international institutions are important to develop and distribute treatments that can mitigate the effects of the outbreak. In the past, institutions including large pharmaceutical corporations have donated vaccine doses to underdeveloped countries, and charitable organizations have funded trials to test the efficacy of the vaccine.[108][109] These collaborations are exemplified in various nations’ responses to the malaria, rotavirus, HIV/Aids, HPV, and COVID-19 outbreaks.[110]
With the rise of
privatized space exploration and the growing competition with nations across the globe in the
new age space race, space diplomacy refers to a globalized effort by scientists, national officials, and private corporations to reach a consensus on what is safe, effective, and sustainable space travel. In addition to possible space jurisdictions to each country interested in space travel, science diplomacy and space, or space diplomacy, can involve considerations towards environmental pollution or a set of international laws and legislations, such as the Outer Space Treaty.
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