LIST OF PANELS

The notion of “science diplomacy” has gained increasing political and scientific attention. But, in spite of this interest in academia and politics, there is not a shared definition or conceptualisation of the term. “Science diplomacy” might appear as a catchy label referring to the multi faceted interplay between science and diplomacy, and consequently to the multiple patterns of articulation between science policy and foreign policy.

The now classical distinctions of Diplomacy for Science, Science for Diplomacy, and Science in Diplomacy were developed in a Royal Society report from 2010. More recently, there have been attempts to revisit these types by, for example, focusing more pragmatically on the interplay of national, transnational, and global needs and interests (Gluckman et al 2017). The S4D4C project in its state-of-the-art report distinguishes between the explicit discourse of science diplomacy and the set of practices that fall at the interface between science, science policy and foreign policy, which may or may not be given the official label of science diplomacy (Rungius et al 2018). An on-going Canadian research program is examining some of these practices through the lens of theories of the policy process, elucidating the range of actors and ideas involved in science diplomacy (Sá et al 2018). Research into the topic in Europe has intensified with the EU having funded three Horizon 2020 projects, beginning with EL-SCID in 2016 and S4D4C and InsSciDE in 2017. 

In this panel we ask: How can we better understand and conceptualize the practice of science diplomacy using public policy tools and approaches? 

There is still a large overarching policy question regarding how science diplomacy actually works. What are the processes of science diplomacy? How can it be theorized? Does each type of science diplomacy require separate theorization or is there a common thread that can be found? Who counts as a science diplomat? What are the roles of different actors in science diplomacy? How do scientists and diplomats interact? What are the interfaces between the two? How do the different logics of science and diplomacy conflict and get resolved? How does scientific knowledge make its way into diplomacy and foreign policy?

Public policy research offers a set of approaches and tools that are extremely relevant to make sense of the development of science diplomacy:

- Questioning policy sectors: Science diplomacy questions the boundaries, interfaces and frictions between distinct policy sectors (science policy and foreign policy).

- Questioning complex policymaking:  Many global policy challenges are becoming more complex and global in nature and call for more coordinated and science-driven solution.

- Questioning the evolving role of the national policy state: the development of science diplomacy does not mean the decline of the state. It can also be understood as a policy of constructing soft power, and re-negotiating the role of the state in transnational multilevel governance.

- Questioning the growing diversity and hybridity of policy actors: Science diplomacy challenges the traditional role of the diplomat, opening possibilities for non-officials and IOs to function in diplomatic processes.

“This panel is organised in the framework of the S4D4C project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 770342. The papers presented reflect only the authors’ view, and the Research Executive Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.”

The notion of “science diplomacy” has gained increasing political and scientific attention. But, in spite of this interest in academia and politics, there is not a shared definition or conceptualisation of the term. “Science diplomacy” might appear as a catchy label referring to the multi faceted interplay between science and diplomacy, and consequently to the multiple patterns of articulation between science policy and foreign policy.

The concept of science diplomacy, both in itself and as it has been understood in practice, raises a set of critical questions which impact of public policy debates and approaches:

- Questioning policy sectors: Science diplomacy questions the boundaries, interfaces and frictions between distinct policy sectors (science policy and foreign policy).

- Questioning complex policymaking:  Many global policy challenges are becoming more complex and global in nature and call for more coordinated and science-driven solution.

- Questioning the evolving role of the national policy state: the development of science diplomacy does not mean the decline of the state. It can also be understood as a policy of constructing soft power and re-negotiating the role of the state in transnational multilevel governance.

- Questioning the growing diversity and hybridity of policy actors: Science diplomacy challenges the traditional role of the diplomat, opening possibilities for non-officials and IOs to function in diplomatic processes.

This panel invites papers that use public policy tools and approaches to better understand and conceptualize the practice of science diplomacy. Specifically we are interested in papers, both theoretical and empirical in nature, that bridge the fields of science and diplomacy. Papers may be oriented toward 1) Theorizing science diplomacy, 2) Interfaces and institutionalizations of science diplomacy, 3) Policy processes and organization of science diplomacy, and 4) Science diplomacy policy actors.