Science Diplomacy in the Indo‐Pacific Region: A Mixed but Promising Experience

Abstract

Among other things, a globalizing world has challenged the old dichotomy between science and diplomacy and helped to facilitate the advent of Science Diplomacy. This term encompasses a particular form of public diplomacy and refers to the use of scientific collaborations among nations to tackle common challenges. Science Diplomacy operates on the assumption that many of today's problems—food, water, energy, climate, and health—cannot be solved by any single state and, more often than not, require international technical or scientific solutions. Does Science Diplomacy represent a major paradigm change or simply a minor adjustment in the making of foreign policy? In the Indo‐Pacific, the need for Science Diplomacy is clear, but at present there are mixed signals on whether states in the region are really prepared to develop its potential. On one hand, the Square Kilometre Array project—the construction of a large radio telescope in Australia and South Africa from 2018—represents a good example of a multilateral diplomatic effort to facilitate and extend scientific collaboration to dramatically improve human capabilities to survey the sky. On the other, science diplomacy has so far largely failed to live up to its potential to address climate change, the most significant threat to the future of the Indo‐Pacific region and the world beyond. However, successful efforts to make Ross Sea a global marine sanctuary also shows that, despite obstacles, Science Diplomacy can sometime have spillover effects into political decision making with positive outcomes. This mixed picture highlights a paradox. While the emergence of Science Diplomacy reflects a recognition by states that a growing number of national problems require international scientific solutions, such recognition remains patchy and somewhat uneven. Many states, particularly the most powerful ones, continue to be constrained in the international arena by the old Westphalian idea of unfettered state sovereignty.