'Designed to delineate and direct attention to the increasingly influential interrelationship between science, technology and foreign policy, Skolnikoff's book succeeds as the first serious attempt to set out the significance, scope and surprising subtlety of this new interface. The book is intended to awaken the reader to its critical importance, the current incapacity of our institutions to cope with it effectively and the urgent need to do something to improve the situation. -Scientific Research.
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?
Diplomacy for the 21st Century recommends steps that the Department of State should embrace to take full advantage of the leading science and technology (S&T) capabilities of the United States. These capabilities provide the department with many opportunities to promote a variety of the interests of the United States and its allies in a rapidly changing world wherein S&T are important drivers of economic development at home and abroad and help ensure international security. This report assesses and makes recommendations concerning the changing environment for the conduct of diplomacy in the years ahead, with a focus on the role of S&T in the development and implementation of U.S. policies and programs. According to this report, prompt steps by the department's leadership are essential to ensure adequate comprehension of the importance of S&T-related developments throughout the world and to incorporate this understanding within the nation's foreign policy for the 21st century. This report also urges the adoption by the department of a broader whole-of-society approach in carrying out its responsibilities at home and abroad - extending beyond traditional interagency coordination and the narrow band of current external partners to include foundations, universities, research centers, and other groups who are extending their international reach.
Eugene Skolnikoff treats the roles of science and technology across the entire range of relations among nations, including security and economic issues, environmental questions, international economic competitiveness, the spread of weapons technology, the demise of communism, the new content of dependency relations, and the demanding new problems of national and international governance. He shows how the structure and operation of the scientific and technological enterprises have interacted with international affairs to lead to the dramatic evolution of world politics experienced in this century, particularly after World War II.
Recent advances in technology have opened up vast new areas of communication, cooperation and even friction among nations in their pursuit of security, development and progress. Science and technology today transcend almost all areas of international affairs. The role of science and technology in international affairs is so intrinsic that it is rarely recognised as a separate entity and often taken for granted. The impact of modern dual-use technology on human society and national security has become so large that it would be necessary for foreign policy professionals to understand the finer nuances of technology to successfully negotiate international affairs in future. The book Role of Technology in International Affairs is aimed at bringing a clear appreciation of the various interconnections and interdependencies between technology, security, foreign policy and diplomacy that future diplomats must have for navigating towards international peace. Part-I introduces the reader to the changing dimensions of international relations and diplomacy and highlights the interplay between technology and international affairs. An India-specific perspective is also discussed to bring focus on future challenges for India in the changing globalised world. Part-II takes the reader through four technology areas of major impact on international affairs. New dimensions of outer space and cyber space have emerged as most decisive areas for international peace. Climate change is going to be the most challenging area for international negotiation for the future. The four chapters endeavour to provide a keen insight on important technology areas. Part-III is about how best India can integrate science and technology and foreign policy to build its comprehensive national power which will be vital to India positioning itself as a major power for protecting and furthering its national interest in international affairs.
This book responds to a gap in the literature in International Relations (IR) by integrating technology more systematically into analyses of global politics. Technology facilitates, accelerates, automates, and exercises capabilities that are greater than human abilities. And yet, within IR, the role of technology often remains under-studied. Building on insights from science and technology studies (STS), assemblage theory and new materialism, this volume asks how international politics are made possible, knowable, and durable by and through technology. The contributors provide empirically rich and pertinent accounts of a variety of technologies relevant to the discipline, including drones, algorithms, satellite imagery, border management databases, and blockchains. Problematizing various technologically mediated issues, such as secrecy, violence, and questions of how authority and evidence become constituted in international contexts, this book will be of interest to scholars in IR, in particular those who work in the subfields of (critical) security studies, International Political Economy, and Global Governance. Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
This book provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the multidimensional influences of technological development on contemporary international relations. The contributions here are drawn from different disciplines, including political science, international relations, sociology, economy, law, biochemistry and bioethics, as well as from different locations, including Poland, the US, Brazil and Israel. This variety allows the complexity of the issues, challenges and implications of technological changes on the structure, functioning and substantive scope of international relations to be fully presented and explored. This collection represents essential reading for anyone with an interest in the dynamic interplay between modern technologies and the transformation of the contemporary international system, and especially for international relations scholars and students.
For more than a century, energy and its procurement have been central to the U.S. position as a world power. How can U.S. relations with established producer nations ensure the stability of energy supplies? How can non-OPEC resources best be brought to the international marketplace? And what are the risks to international security of growing global reliance on imported oil? n Energy and Security: Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy, Jan H. Kalicki and David L. Goldwyn bring together the topmost foreign policy and energy experts and leaders to examine these issues, as well as how the U.S. can mitigate the risks and dangers of continued energy dependence through a new strategic approach to foreign policy that integrates both U.S. energy and national security interests. Contributors include Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Kevin A. Baumert, Michelle Billig, Loyola de Palacio, Jonathan Elkind, Michelle Michot Foss, Leon Fuerth, Lee H. Hamilton, Evan M. Harrje, John P. Holdren, Paul F. Hueper, Amy Myers Jaffe, J. Bennett Johnston, Donald A. Juckett, Viktor I. Kalyuzhny, Melanie A. Kenderdine, William F. Martin, Charles McPherson, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ernest J. Moniz, Edward L. Morse, Julia Nanay, Shirley Neff, Willy H. Olsen, Bill Richardson, John Ryan, James R. Schlesinger, Gordon Shearer, Adam E. Sieminski, Alvaro Silva-Calderón, Luis Téllez Kuenzler, J. Robinson (Robin) West, Daniel Yergin, and Keiichi Yokobori.
