Scientific Statecraft: Using the Power of Scientific Knowledge to Drive State Actions

Abstract

Foreign Policy considerations today often include or affect science or scientific matters. In the United States decisions are based on an ad hoc response to situational issues. By comparison, in the last two decades several countries have made a concerted effort to focus on science and technology as a driving force of state policy, both in deploying funding, personnel and focusing cabinet level interest on the issue. This has resulted in their unprecedented growth and rise in stature on the world scene. By comparison, the United States has fragmentized its science policy decisions and reduced Congressional spending on vetting scientific evidence used as its basis.While serious study has been developed to analyze and improve government response based on economics, to date no framework has been proposed to investigate and design an overall program of governmental initiatives based on science and technology as a basis to further overall objectives. This presentation provides the first systemic framework to conceptualize the matter.The presentation outlines recent examples of the use of science in forging governmental policy, outlines the tools of scientific statecraft, details an approach to incorporate science in statecraft and provides a case-study of the misuse of science that affected and undermined US Bioterrorism Policy.