Geopolitics are a distant issue, they are already inside your fence.

by Jan Marco Müller

Research institutions must be aware that their research may have geopolitical consequences, be they positive or negative. We are not operating in a vacuum here and a nice ivory tower up there. In the current situation, whatever we do is ultimately very political. We need to be aware of this. Geopolitics are not a distant issue; right now, they are already inside the fence of your organization, whether you want it or not. Just think of the discussions which we have on university campuses around Gaza, or the U.S., or China influence, or whatever you may think of. So be aware that you cannot evade the debate. You’ll need to deal with it.

But what is important, we must create the structures needed to enable researchers to take informed decisions on whether to engage in a cooperation or not. This is not about restricting cooperation. And ultimately, it’s up to the individual researcher to decide, if they want to enter into this cooperation or not. But we have to provide them with the tools needed to take an informed decision. And that’s what is happening already on the research security side, because I cannot expect from any researcher, when they enter a cooperation with e.g. China, to know whether this partner may have some connection with the Chinese army or whatever. And I think we need similar structures also in science diplomacy.

We need to engage with policymakers, with diplomats, with citizens. And this includes the ones outside our eco-chamber.

I know that this is not easy, because we always like to preach to the converted, and have to talk to the parliamentarians, as shown in our parliamentary evenings in our labs. But it’s actually the people who vote for them. These are the ones we need to convince. Speak up, stand up, gang up for science and for academic freedom.

Let’s face it: science is under attack now. And I think we need to deal with it and stand up for it. And diplomats can help us with this. Because diplomats have similar interests. They can help us in defending our values, the ones we as scientists believe in, which are fundamental to international cooperation.

And finally, never lose faith that science is going to make the world a better place.

Jan Marco Müller

Jan Marco Müller is Team Leader Global Approach, Multilateral Dialogue and Science Diplomacy, European Commission, DG Research and Innovation.
He has been coordinating the Science Diplomacy division at the European Commission since 2022. He holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Marburg.

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