Scientists Engineers And Track Two Diplomacy

This report is intended to provide a brief historical perspective of the evolution of the interacademy program during the past half-century, recognizing that many legacies of the Soviet era continue to influence government approaches in Moscow and Washington and to shape the attitudes of researchers toward bilateral cooperation in both countries (of special interest is the changing character of the program during the age of perestroika (restructuring) in the late 1980s in the Soviet Union); to describe in some detail the significant interacademy activities from late 1991, when the Soviet Union fragmented, to mid-2003; and to set forth lessons learned about the benefits and limitations of interacademy cooperation and to highlight approaches that have been successful in overcoming difficulties of implementation.

This report is intended to provide a brief historical perspective of the evolution of the interacademy program during the past half-century, recognizing that many legacies of the Soviet era continue to influence government approaches in Moscow and Washington and to shape the attitudes of researchers toward bilateral cooperation in both countries (of special interest is the changing character of the program during the age of perestroika (restructuring) in the late 1980s in the Soviet Union); to describe in some detail the significant interacademy activities from late 1991, when the Soviet Union fragmented, to mid-2003; and to set forth lessons learned about the benefits and limitations of interacademy cooperation and to highlight approaches that have been successful in overcoming difficulties of implementation.

“Jones provides a nuanced perspective on both the promise and limits of this unheralded form of unofficial diplomacy.” —Stephen J. Del Rosso, Director, International Peace and Security, Carnegie Corporation of New York Track Two diplomacy consists of informal dialogues among actors such as academics, religious leaders, retired senior officials, and NGO officials that can bring new ideas and new relationships to the official process of diplomacy. Sadly, those involved in official diplomacy often have little understanding of and appreciation for the complex and nuanced role that Track Two can play, or for its limitations. And many Track Two practitioners are often unaware of the realities and pressures of the policy and diplomatic worlds, and not particularly adept at framing their efforts to make them accessible to hard-pressed officials. At the same time, those interested in the academic study of Track Two sometimes fail to understand the realities faced by either set of practitioners. A need therefore exists for a work to bridge the divides between these constituencies and between the different types of Track Two practice—and this book crosses disciplines and traditions in order to do just that. It explores the various dimensions and guises of Track Two, the theory and practice of how they work, and how both practitioners and academics could more profitably assess Track Two. Overall, it provides a comprehensive picture of the range of activities pursued under this title, to provoke new thinking about how these activities relate to each other, to official diplomacy, and to academe. “This book will be a classic that defines the field of Track Two diplomacy. . . . an exemplary work.”—Esra Cuhadar, Bilkent University

Science diplomacy and policy can support collaborative national and international science for advancing knowledge with societal impact in fields such as climate, space, medicine, and the environment., Scientific advances made possible by the basic and applied research carried out by government agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations create opportunities and challenges with growing impact on policy decisions. Developing structures that produce the best science information to policy makers is becoming more critical in an ever-changing world. This three-volume set presented by prominent figures from the disciplines of science, engineering, technology, and diplomacy includes their perspectives on potential solutions to opportunities 21st-century scientists, engineers, and diplomats face in the future: To shed light and interface science, technology, and engineering with the realm of policy; To provide a vision for the future by identifying obstacles and opportunities while focusing on several key issues.

As modern foreign policy and international relations encompass more and more scientific issues, we are moving towards a new type of diplomacy, known as “Science Diplomacy”. Will this new diplomacy of the 21st century prove to be more effective than past diplomacy for the big issues facing the world, such as climate change, food and water insecurity, diminishing biodiversity, pandemic disease, public health, genomics or environmental collapse, mineral exploitation, health and international scientific endeavours such as those in the space and the Antarctic?Providing a new area of academic focus that has only gathered momentum in the last few years, this book considers these questions by bringing together a distinguished team of international specialists to look at various facets of how diplomacy and science are influenced by each other.The book not only dissects the ways that politics, science and diplomacy have become intertwined, but also highlights how the world's seemingly most intractable problems can be tackled with international collaboration and diplomacy that is rooted in science, and driven by technology. It, therefore, challenges the conventional wisdom concerning the juxtaposition of science and the world of diplomacy.

This book examines in depth science diplomacy, a particular field of international relations, in which the interests of science and those of foreign policy intersect. Building on a wealth of examples drawn from history and contemporary international relations, it analyzes and discusses the links between the world of scientists and that of diplomats. Written by a professor of economics and former Embassy counselor for science and technology, the book sets out to answer the following questions: Can science issues affect diplomatic relations between countries? Is international scientific cooperation a factor for peace? Are researchers good ambassadors for their countries? Is scientific influence a particular form of cultural influence on the world stage? Do diplomats really listen to what experts say when negotiating on the future of the planet? Is the independence of the scientist threatened by science diplomacy? What is a scientific attaché for?