The whole discussion we\u2019re having today – we are going through times of disruption – is not there for the first time. We were experiencing such a period during the Cold War, for example. We need a historical perspective if we want to find answers to this very important situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did my research during what I want to call the renaissance of science diplomacy. Some people call this the naive field of science diplomacy. I don’t think that any of us who had worked on these periods ever thought that this was a naive position. We were optimistic that science diplomacy can connect, that it will build bridges, that it has an international role etc. This is completely gone. The whole discussion today is how we diversify, how we decouple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past, we have used the metaphor that science diplomacy builds bridges. Now, based on the current discussion, we have to change this understanding. We have to find another metaphor to describe what is happening. I would like to propose a new metaphor: that science diplomacy acts as a kind of damper today. A damper is this device that in mechanical systems absorbs the shocks, the destabilizing forces. This is what science diplomacy is trying to do right now. What science diplomacy can do is to maintain the bridge. The bridge is already there, and we have to find ways to maintain the bridge and make sure that – even in hot wars – we can still have some dialogue and exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you ask me which changes I envision for the future: I see three major differences on three levels. One is the institutionalization of something, the second is education, and the third is research. Institutionalization means that we take the European Union Science Diplomacy framework and turn it into a strategy in the member states. We need more concrete action at that level. As to education: It\u2019s not enough to have future programs on science diplomacy at several universities. The most important thing is to integrate science diplomacy perspectives into different study programs. We have this at Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen\/N\u00fcrnberg, Germany, where we have a new elite master program in earth system science, and one of its major pillars is going to be science diplomacy. This is what I want to see in the future: that science diplomacy becomes part of our education. I think this is the only way we can really change things and educate the next generation. The last one is research. We need more research on several levels\u2014historical, political, you name it. But we also need funding for that research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How might science look like in ten years? Well, I was watching CNN today and I saw that Elon Musk launched this powerful rocket, Starship. The NASA was observing it, everyone was discussing it. So – is this science? It\u2019s happening outside universities. Universities are not the only powerful institutions producing science. Science is already different. Who is Elon Musk, to launch rockets into space? We have to start from these background assumptions. Looking ahead, what I want to see is how we regulate these kinds of efforts\u2014not how we open them up even further and have more corporations getting involved in this kind of scientific and knowledge production without regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our power is on an individual level, to bring about fundamental change as much as we can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To respond to your question (how scientists can really push enough to bring about change<\/em>) from the side of the scientists, and to give you an easy answer to a very difficult question, I would say: create space. As an individual scientist, create space for people coming from outside Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, you asked us about ten years from now. I forgot to say that I want to see a Europe that is very inclusive. We don\u2019t create space for people coming from places like Africa. I really spent a month filling out forms in order to make it possible for a scientist from Cameroon to visit us in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spend the time! There is no other easy way to change what you just said: that, indeed, the Global North has the power and the Global South doesn\u2019t. Our power is on an individual level, to bring about fundamental change as much as we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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