Article by UNA Coventry Volunteer Gesneria C. Cepoi.

Contrary to popular belief, science diplomacy is the interpreter behind the scenes of many geopolitical conflicts. Although the term has emerged in the 21st century, science diplomacy has a longstanding history behind it. To understand why the UN needs it, we must first look at what science diplomacy is.

Science diplomacy is known to represent a country’s interest while tackling global issues. This is possible by using scientist’s advice in international matters (Krasnyak & Ruffini, 2020).

Despite there not being a single agreed definition, science diplomacy operates under three key strands as The Royal Society has stated;

• “Informing foreign policy objectives with scientific advice (science in diplomacy)”
• “Facilitating international science cooperation (diplomacy for science) ” 
• “Using science cooperation to improve international relations between countries (science for diplomacy) ” (New Frontiers in Science Diplomacy | Royal Society, 2010)

A famous example from the past is the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, when 12 countries used scientist’s expertise to reach a peaceful agreement that Antarctica should only be used for scientific research, with any results to be shared (Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, 2020).

The history behind science diplomacy dates back to thousands of years ago; humans have been exchanging and trading since the beginning of times, with one of the earliest times recorded about 320000 years ago in East Africa, where people from East Africa started trading pigment colours with other distant groups ‌(Smithsonian, 2018). As humans began to evolve, the level at which they were trading rose, particularly in the form of technical knowledge. The Hittite-Egyptian peace treaty in 1259 B.C. is the oldest known peace treaty. Both sides had agreed to share their knowledge with each other; Hittites taught Egyptians how to make better weapons and tools, whereas Egyptians shared their knowledge of agriculture (Jovan Kurbalija, 2021). In 1660, the Royal Society of London had started taking part in international scientific matters, naming its first assistant secretary for foreign correspondence in 1723 (Massarella, 1992). Through using science to progress national benefits abroad, more people began to take an interest in using scientific knowledge to advance political interests and advise leaders. An early science diplomat was Alexander Von Humboldt. Although not known as a science diplomat at the time, Alexander took scientific expeditions to broaden his personal scientific interests, which he used to advise the Prussian Court (Sandra Rebok 2023). Another early science diplomat was Charles Wardell Stiles, who was the first U.S. science Attaché.

A science diplomat is a person who combines and uses their scientific and political knowledge in either governmental or intergovernmental roles to advise on strategies, policies, decision-making or to help build connections. A science diplomat can either be a scientist who takes on the role of a diplomat, or it can be a diplomat who is specialised in science, technology and innovation affairs (Melchor, L., 2020).

In the 20th century, science diplomacy began advancing rapidly, with UNESCO emerging in 1946 (UNESCO, 2025). In 1950, scientists, diplomats, science administrators and academics proposed building a European intergovernmental scientific organisation, which led to the creation of CERN in 1954 by UNESCO (Müller & Bona, 2018). Globalisation of science diplomacy in the 1970s played a big part in how international relations is able to utilise science diplomacy today. The 1970s saw an increase of newly independent countries in the UN taking part in international scientific matters, with issues from that time including nuclear science, space exploration and oceanography, which are all still relevant today (Robinson et al., 2023). The late 1900s saw some of the most prominent advances in science diplomacy, with the IPCC (intergovernmental panel on climate change) forming in 1988 (IPCC, 2019). Finally, in the 21st century, we see the term science diplomacy appear; in 2012, the EU used the term in its Commission Communication, recognising science diplomacy will be used as a form of international cooperation to build relations with other countries (Science Diplomacy | EEAS Website, 2022).

Therefore, although the term didn’t exist until the early 2000s, humans used science extensively to advance political interests and build alliances between countries from opposite ends of the globe. With a growing body of literature, science diplomacy has gained popularity in the 21st century, although current issues pose a threat to it, such as how AI is used in international relations. Despite AI offering diplomats the possibility to use technology to strengthen diplomatic relationships and influence decisions, it nonetheless poses issues with the transparency of decision-making and maintaining ethical standards (Varela, D., 2024).

We see throughout history that science has been essential to make informed decisions, in order to advance a country in political and social aspects like healthcare. Current issues such as climate change need science diplomacy to build trust and reliability. The UN needs science diplomacy for informed decisions in emergency cases (Gluckman et al., 2017). The COVID-19 pandemic showed that when countries joined together and combined both science and diplomatic abilities, a vaccine was rapidly formed. Still to this day ongoing challenges such as AI security and ethics, gene editing and climate change, require scientific advice to inform countries which are not connected by anything but their scientific and peace interests. The EU has stated “Science can help getting traction with non-likeminded countries and lead to tangible results ” (Science Diplomacy | EEAS Website, 2022.) Furthermore, the UN needs science diplomacy with a wide range of issues that affect a country from all sides, including geopolitically. The ocean is one of these, it is under pressure from humans because of pollution and climate change, there is a biodiversity loss and sustainability is dependent on informed scientific advice, since these issues aren’t just national, but international, science diplomacy helps strengthen international relations among countries (Polejack, 2021). 

To conclude, science diplomacy fosters international collaboration by establishing common goals between countries, most notably those that are ideologically different.

References

Varela, D. (2024). Diplomacy in the Age of AI: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Artificial Intelligence General science (JAIGS) ISSN, 3006-4023.

New frontiers in science diplomacy | Royal Society. (n.d.). Royalsociety.org. https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/publications/2010/new-frontiers-science-diplomacy/

‌Krasnyak, O., & Ruffini, P.-B. (2020). Science Diplomacy. International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0277

Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. (2020). The Antarctic Treaty | Antarctic Treaty. Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. https://www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html

Müller, J., & Bona, M. (2018). Future of Science Diplomacy in Europe. Science & Diplomacy, 7(3). https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/sites/default/files/past_present_and_future_of_sd_in_europe_september_2018.pdf

‌Smithsonian. (2018, March 15). Scientists discover evidence of early human innovation, pushing back evolutionary timeline. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 15, 2026 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180315140733.htm

Jovan Kurbalija, Ancient Diplomacy: What can it teach us?, ‘Diplomacy and Technology: A historical journey‘, 2021, DiploFoundation

Massarella, D. (1992). Philip Henry Zollman, the Royal Society’s first assistant secretary for foreign correspondence. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.1992.0023

Pursuit of Knowledge in a World of Politics: Alexander von Humboldt as an Early Advocate of Science Diplomacy. (2023, October 27). Science & Diplomacy; Science & Diplomacy. https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/perspective/2023/pursuit-knowledge-in-world-politics-alexander-von-humboldt-early-advocate-science

UNESCO. (2025). Our history. Unesco.org. https://www.unesco.org/en/brief/history

Robinson, S., Adamson, M., Barrett, G., Lif Lund Jacobsen, Turchetti, S., Aya Homei, Marton, P., Aronowsky, L., Choudry, I., Johan Gärdebo, Hyun, J., Ienna, G., Kinyanjui, C., Martínez-Rius, B., Mascarello, J., Doubravka Olšáková, Rispoli, G., & Zaidi, W. (2023). The globalization of science diplomacy in the early 1970s: a historical exploration. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scad026

IPCC. (2019). History — IPCC. Ipcc.ch; IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/about/history/

Science diplomacy | EEAS Website. (n.d.). Www.eeas.europa.eu. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/science-diplomacy_en

Gluckman, P., Turekian, V., Grimes, R., & Kishi, T. (2017). Science Diplomacy: A Pragmatic Perspective from the Inside. https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/sites/default/files/pragmatic_perspective_science_advice_dec2017_1.pdf

Polejack, A. (2021). The Importance of Ocean Science Diplomacy for Ocean Affairs, Global Sustainability, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.664066

Melchor, L. (2020). What Is a Science Diplomat?. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 15(3), 409-423. https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-BJA10026