LIST OF PANELS

The interplay between diplomacy and public policy is central not only to transnational governance but also in confronting the cross-border policy problems that impact on local communities and national jurisdiction, especially when addressing challenges like climate change, pandemics, poverty, and the Sustainable Development Goals.  
 
Each challenge exposes the limitations of the traditional categories in inter-state diplomacy. There are also widening ‘public’ and ‘plural’ dimensions of diplomacy that come with a range of nonstate actors. These actors seek not merely to influence international public opinion or inform policy development but also to sit at the diplomatic table. Informal agents – individuals like celebrities, business actors, philanthropists, ‘sherpas’ and organizations like museums, NGOs, think tanks, cities, and cultural associations – act as open channels or ‘alternative’ diplomats. So-called ‘new diplomats’ also find opportunity to enter the diplomatic terrain when government capacity is weak or as technology enables diplomatic actors to engage new or wider audiences via new mechanisms (digital, media and public diplomacy).
 
The diplomatic field has not only diversified but policy sectors once considered the sovereign realm of national policy and/or welfare provision have become new fields of diplomacy.  Today, health, science and innovation, sport, culture and education policy sectors have a ‘diplomatic face’.
 
The Research Questions that frame this panel include the following:
·      What can Policy Studies offer Diplomatic Studies and vis-à-vis, how can diplomatic studies inform the study of public policy?
·      What are the interfaces between diplomacy and public policy at the different levels of governance, and how and why might they differ?
·      What policy concepts can be adopted to re-interpret contemporary diplomatic practices and processes as an evolution of public policy development and administrative competencies? Similarly, what diplomatic concepts may help reinterpret the policy interface of informal actors with global policy and transnational governance?
·      What are the organisational and ‘policy network’ dimensions of the new diplomatic activity?
·      Do the chosen policy tools and instruments of informal non-state actors differ from the policy tools commonly used by inter-state diplomatic efforts?
·      With what policy authority (if any) and legitimacy do informal (or non-state or non-traditional) diplomats have?
 
This panel seeks contributions that conceptualize and/or empirically research evolving diplomatic practice within the public policy domain and other crucial areas of policy research, such as policy evaluation and implementation. The panel systematizes diplomacy not as an autonomous theoretical field but one that is influenced by development studies, cultural studies and mostly importantly for ICPP, increasingly informed by public policy studies. 
 
The objective of the panel is to discuss public policy responses to global challenges as one that has national and local dimensions but where public policy can sometimes blur and merge with diplomacy.  Considerations span the impact of digital diplomacy, the evolving role of non-state actors, and the influence of public opinion on diplomatic decision-making. Accordingly, the proposed panel contributes to understanding how “informal” diplomacy and public policy shape one another. This will foster interdisciplinary discussions and help bridge the gap between diplomatic studies and public policy.

This panel invites submissions that explore the intersection of diplomacy and public policy, focusing on the evolving role of non-state actors in shaping governance at the local, national, and global levels. We seek both conceptual and empirical papers that analyse how informal diplomats, such as NGOs, multinational corporations, advocacy groups, city networks, and cultural institutions, as well as certain individuals from the corporate world, philanthropy or civil society, are influencing dynamic interactions between policy processes and diplomatic practices. Papers should address the ways in which these actors operate within formal diplomatic frameworks or create alternative diplomatic mechanisms to address transnational challenges like climate change, global health, space exploration, or the Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, this panel seeks a more holistic understanding of the interplay between governmental bodies and non-governmental entities (such as advocacy groups, multinational corporations, and civil society organizations). Here, diplomacy emerges as a grey area, attributing influence and ‘soft power’ to actors, representing the intricate relationship between informal channels and formal diplomatic efforts.
 
Contributors are encouraged to explore case studies demonstrating how informal diplomatic actors collaborate with traditional state actors, or how they independently shape public policy through mechanisms like policy transfer or diffusion, public-private partnerships, or other governance innovations. Theoretical papers should aim to bridge the gap between policy studies and diplomatic studies, offering new insights into how the two fields inform one another. We also welcome research that examines the legitimacy, authority, and impact of non-state actors in the policy-making process, particularly when their involvement challenges (in either a positive or negative fashion) the traditional diplomatic monopoly of state actors. For instance, little is known about the role of new diplomatic actors in specific forums, shaping diplomatic interactions and coordinating global public policy such as via policy transfer and ‘policy ambassadors’.  
 
This panel is particularly interested in papers that focus on innovative diplomatic practices emerging from policy sectors not traditionally associated with diplomacy. For instance, sectors such as education, health, science, culture, urban and water governance or other policy sectors. Submissions should ideally be embedded within a strong conceptual or theoretical framework that engages with the interdisciplinary nature of this evolving field. Selected papers will be considered for inclusion in a special edition of a policy studies journal, aiming to further contribute to scholarly discussions on the role of diplomacy in contemporary governance.