Engaging science diplomacy for nanotechnology development in Africa

Abstract

The concept of science diplomacy is gaining ground as a global strategy in addressing global concerns such as global peace, insecurity, climate change and environmental impact. This study reduces science diplomacy to an effective means for the strategic development of nanotechnology in Africa. African nations are currently not encouragingly close to the leading nations in nanotechnology, yet there seem to be extant diplomatic relationship with many of these forefront nations. African diplomats are state actors in science diplomacy to propose foreign policies that will meet the domestic demand for science and technology development in Africa, especially for emerging technologies like nanotechnology. The necessity of inclusion of competent scientists with diplomatic skills as members of the diplomatic corps is recommended here as one of the ways to develop nanotechnology in Africa. The scientist diplomats will function to foster international scientific collaborations, drive platforms for national research facility development and for non-state actors to thrive in their domestic nano-research. Scientifically informed foreign policies are presented here to have potentials to significantly assist Africa in developing nanotechnology and provide pathways for overcoming the numerous constraints to nanotechnology development in Africa. Critical areas of intervention include human capacity development, national nano-research laboratory facilities, platforms for institutional collaborations, post-graduate student training and robust exchange programs. These machineries also benefit independent individual researchers by leveraging on the international networks created by science attachés through science diplomacy.

Science Diplomacy in Emerging Economies: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Colombian Case

“…There are multiple references in the literature to non-traditional actors of diplomacy, also referred to as Track II Diplomacy. The actors of SD are diverse: Scientists, civil society, universities (Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018;Pantović and Michelini, 2018), as well as private entities, companies, and research centers (Ezekiel, 2020). Authors also mention hybrid collectives such as epistemic communities (Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018).…”

“…Authors also mention hybrid collectives such as epistemic communities (Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018). However, actors belonging to the Track I Diplomacy or Official Diplomacy are also highlighted: Government officials, diplomatic corps and multilateral organizations (Ezekiel, 2020).…”

“…Practices include the establishment of alliances for international scientific cooperation, which can also support countries with tense relations (Patman and Davis, 2017). SD also refers to actions supported by governments to form international alliances for human development, the creation of facilities such as laboratories to support research, projects and platforms for inter-institutional collaboration and training of researchers, in order to achieve the interests of countries in STI (Ezekiel, 2020). SD practices include those that allow the insertion of developing countries in the knowledge economy and the management of resources for the development of solutions adapted to the contexts of emerging economies (Thompson, 2018).…”

“…According to the research objectives of the present study: (i) actors, (ii) practices, (iii) conceptions, and (iv) suggestions for the future of SD in emerging economies. There are a number of references in SD in emerging economies literature that point out to non-traditional actors of diplomacy (Pantović and Michelini, 2018, Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018, Ezekiel, 2020. Practices mentioned mostly draw to the broader dynamics of governmental support to STI collaboration (Patman and Davis, 2017;Thompson, 2018;Ezekiel, 2020) however the purpose of such practices refers to: promotion, influence and access (Flink and Schreiterer, 2010).…”

“…There are a number of references in SD in emerging economies literature that point out to non-traditional actors of diplomacy (Pantović and Michelini, 2018, Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018, Ezekiel, 2020. Practices mentioned mostly draw to the broader dynamics of governmental support to STI collaboration (Patman and Davis, 2017;Thompson, 2018;Ezekiel, 2020) however the purpose of such practices refers to: promotion, influence and access (Flink and Schreiterer, 2010). When reviewing conceptions category, the literature on SD in emerging economies is mainly focused on access, this is, the development of capacities and exchange of resources in order to be part of the global scene of STI (Hornsby and Parshotam, 2018;Thompson, 2018).…”