9.3.2015

Science diplomacy can be defined as the use of international science-policy collaborations to address common challenges. As such, it is a tool to build bridges between nations and to achieve shared benefits. Many of today’s global challenges — water, energy, food, climate and health — are so-called ‘wicked problems’, meaning that they are not confined to any single nation or region and require multidisciplinary solutions found at the science-policy interface. 

For more information on science diplomacy, please see the publication titled ‘New Frontiers in Science Diplomacy: Navigating the Changing Balance of Power’ (PDF), published by the Royal Society in cooperation with AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science).

Another good source for information is Science & Diplomacy, which is the quarterly publication of AAAS, which also hosts the Center for Science Diplomacy. The Center promotes the use of science to build bridges between countries and to promote scientific cooperation as an essential element of foreign policy by raising the profile of science diplomacy. The Science & Diplomacy quarterly covers a wide range of topics, ranging from for example transboundary issues and shared spaces to health diplomacy and capacity building. On highly recommended article from Science & Diplomacy is: Stability and Peace in the Arctic Ocean through Science Diplomacy, by Prof. Paul Berkman.

TWAS (World Academy of Sciences), which works for the advancement of science in developing countries organizes science diplomacy summer schools for young scientists and ‘science diplomacy ambassadors’. The TWAS website has materials related especially to science diplomacy in the context of developing countries.

Other interesting articles on the subject of science diplomacy: