CfP: Diplomats in science diplomacy: Promoting scientific and technological collaboration in international relations.
In recent years the notion of science diplomacy has attracted scholars from a variety of disciplines. Yet there is still much to explore in regards to its history and in particular about how science and technology have increasingly become important devices in the administration of foreign affairs. What we lack of, in particular, is an examination of the role of those diplomats who, in embassies and consulates, began to use science diplomacy more frequently in the routine ambassadorial practice of mediating and negotiating between administrations. Who were they? Why did they consider science and technology as a viable device in these negotiations? What networks did they exploit to further their efforts?
We invite contributions from scholars interested in science, technology and diplomacy, and wishing to address these questions. The workshop is kindly hosted by the Niels Bohr Archive and will take place in the historic Auditorium A at the Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen, Denmark).
We look for contributions exploring:
- The biography and activities of individual diplomats who have played a pivotal role in introducing scientific and technological collaborations in international relations at any point in the past and any place in the world.
- The ways in which diplomacy involving a science and technology component have helped to forge negotiations across political and geographical divides, e.g.:
· between/within Eastern and Western countries
· between/within Cold War blocs
· between/within Global North vs. Global South divides
· in colonial/imperial settings
- The role of diplomats in taking science and technology from bilateral to multi-lateral relations in a number of past and present political and scientific organizations (e.g. UN, IAEA, FAO, CMEA, Warsaw Pact, NATO, ICSU, WMO, etc.)…
- … also within the dimensions of non-alignment and continental alliances (Pan-African; Pan-Asian; Latin American, Caribbean, etc.)
- Unofficial or informal diplomacy channels in foreign affairs with a science and technology element.
We invite submission of titles, abstracts (250 words max) and a short CV (100 words max) to the Commission’s Secretary, Matthew Adamson (mhadamson@mcdaniel.hu) by the 1st March 2019.
Participation to the meeting is free but the commission cannot offer funds to cover travel and subsistence. Five speakers whose papers have been accepted will receive a travel bursary of $300 (US dollars). The selection will be made on the following basis:
• Career stage; with preference given to graduate students and early career researchers
• Residence; with preference given to those living in countries with lower GDP ranking