A growing number of transnational problems will necessitate the involvement of expertise from practitioners of science and technology in the diplomatic process. The pressing issues of the next decades, from climate change and global pandemics to economic and energy infrastructure, will rely more and more on a fact-based, science-oriented foreign policy and international cooperation.
DUCIGS’ Rethinking Diplomacy Program promotes research and discourse on Science Diplomacy. Our ongoing series—Multi-stakeholder Framework, Space Diplomacy, UN75 and Environmental Peacebuilding, to name a few—have been exploring the topic of diplomacy in all its real-world applications.
Below is a list of events that expanded on our campaign for “More Scientists in the Room,” launched with a December 15, 2020 op-ed in The Hill. Also check out our research articles in the Analysis & Opinions page.
Recent Events:
DUCIGS' Rethinking Diplomacy Program (RDP) kicked off its third year with a talk on Anticipatory Diplomacy, a diplomacy-science partnership to tackle global challenges before positions harden. Former U.S. Ambassadors W. Robert Pearson (RDP fellow) and Marcie Ries were joined by National Science Policy Network chair, Lindsey Gray.
Bridge the Gap Between U.S. Science and Diplomacy
May 12, 2021
A growing number of transnational problems over the next decade will necessitate the expertise from practitioners of science and technology, writes our Rethinking Diplomacy team, urging the Biden Administration to appoint more scientists to the senior ranks of the State Department. Leaders of the National Science Policy Network co-authored this policy analysis.
Diplomacy Needs More Scientists in the Room
February 23, 2021
Harvard's Benjamin L. Schmitt talked at DUCIGS' about the need to add scientists in foreign policy positions, as transnational issues become increasingly complex. Duke alumna, Amrita Banerjee (AAAS fellow) joined the lecture. Read more.
David Nabarro joined DUCIGS Director Giovanni Zanalda, Professor of Global Environmental Health William Pan, and Rethinking Diplomacy Fellow Christian Lara for a conversation on balancing national unity and global solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Science-Diplomacy and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Advancing Science Diplomacy in a Time of Crisis
May 7, 2020
In this webinar, Dr. Marga Gual Soler and Dr. Mauricio Calderon-Ortiz spoke about how science diplomacy - a framework recognizing multiplicative benefits that occur when science and policy stakeholders converge to address common challenges - can be applied in times of crisis.
