Essay on Etemad Newspaper November 21, 2021 -
The original text is in Persian and the following translation was done by Ai.
Diplomacy, as one of the applied branches of the humanities, is one of the most important tools of governments to develop and advance their positions and interests in international relations, including foreign policy. Of course, in its general sense, diplomacy is an everyday and continuous matter and, incidentally, is not exclusive to diplomats: from personal relationships to petty commercial matters and various transactions that appear in the daily lives of individuals in society, all are a kind of diplomacy and are accompanied by a minimum of diplomatic and negotiation skills, as well as observing appropriate formalities.
It is one of the vehicles of public diplomacy, which includes any type of diplomacy whose addressee is not governments but the body of societies, including public opinion or their elites. From this perspective, science, art, culture, sports, tourism, and even sometimes the media can be considered among the most prominent axes of public diplomacy.
The difference in the audience of public diplomacy compared to other official diplomacy requires a different approach and spirit from the people, but at the same time, the attention to it and the effect it has on advancing the interests and positions of countries and governments is so great that in many countries there is a special structure for public diplomacy.
As mentioned, one of the most prominent types of public diplomacy is science diplomacy or scientific diplomacy. Of course, in terms of terminology, public diplomacy has been proposed in three meanings:
Science and technology in diplomacy, in which science and technology act as a shaper and supporter of foreign policy goals.
Diplomacy for science and technology, which means the development of science through diplomacy. International scientific cooperation that is typically in the human and transnational dimensions and is provided or carried out through the participation of several countries falls into this category.
Science and technology for diplomacy, which, as mentioned, is classified under public diplomacy and indirectly helps diplomacy as a method and side path.
Science diplomacy in the third sense, as a branch of public diplomacy and a tool for producing and exercising soft power, is of increasing importance in today's world. The more and more widely communication technologies are used, the more active and influential ordinary people are in public and international relations, and as a result, there is more room for politicians and governments to influence their opinions, which is undoubtedly one of the paths of public diplomacy.
Opportunities for science diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran:
Considering the recent discussion of public diplomacy and especially science diplomacy in the country, especially compared to developed countries, the opportunities for science diplomacy for Iran can be summarized as follows:
Growing university capacity to accept students
By reducing the number of applicants for university seats, it is possible to remove the attraction of international students from the monopoly of a few universities that have international titles, and by developing legal, human and technical infrastructure, it is possible to prepare the ground for accepting students in many universities in the country. Especially universities that have an acceptable name at the international level and teaching and research staff fluent in foreign languages will be the leaders in this field. This will bring both financial benefits to the university and the country and will also provide the ground for universities to compete to gain the ability to accept international students and improve the educational and technical level.
Sending professors to less developed countries
In view of the cases mentioned above and the significant number of postgraduate graduates in the country who may not have enough faculty or research positions in the country, it is possible to send them as professors and consultants for several years through contracts with less developed governments and universities. This will both indirectly create employment and after a few years will provide the country with efficient human resources who, in addition to their expertise, are also familiar with the affairs of the destination country.
Opening branches of prominent universities in wealthy but less developed countries for scientific purposes. In some cases, due to the lack of university space in the destination country, if the government provides financial resources, universities can be established as branches and even human resources and teaching and research staff can be largely provided from within the country.
The role of consultants for governments and megaprojects
Given the expert capacity available in the country's universities, especially in the fields of engineering, technology and medicine, the office established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can conduct consultations with many governments through diplomatic channels so that the technical and engineering, as well as medical and paramedical, consulting and management capacity of the said government can be transferred to a university in Iran, and this accumulated capacity can be made available for foreign exchange and indirectly for entrepreneurship. Providing specialized and expert human resources in many cases can help the country's entrepreneurship and foreign exchange and prevent the migration of experts.
Summer courses for students and postgraduate studies
To introduce the country and its academic power, as well as to increase the country's influence and soft power, universities, in coordination with the infrastructure created in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, can hold summer schools in Iran and make a long-term impact on the minds of their audience, which is students, graduates, and professors from other countries. In addition, this work will also promote business and scientific tourism.
Challenges of scientific diplomacy:
A minimal view of scientific diplomacy and international inter-organizational relations
It seems that one of the biggest challenges facing the development of scientific diplomacy is the view that exists in the structure, human resources, and middle and macro management of the country in this sense. In the eyes of many managers and what has been seen in the structure of universities, scientific diplomacy is more than anything a type of public relations and international affairs, and not really scientific and cultural diplomacy as is customary in the world.
Security considerations
Official and public diplomacy have always been potentially a favorable platform for the issue of infiltration and espionage. Because having official relations and representation in public diplomacy, close scientific and cultural relations, significant interactions between professors, artists, athletes, etc., and at a higher level, establishing communication between universities and centers of the two countries can be the best base and cover for any information gathering, intervention, etc. But just as official diplomacy cannot be closed for this reason and relations disrupted, in the case of public diplomacy, appropriate means must be foreseen so that the maximum security perspective does not lead to the loss of the benefits of interactions in the field of public diplomacy, especially scientific diplomacy.
Sanctions
The reality is that during a period when a country is under sanctions, especially the comprehensive sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the willingness of countries, universities, scientific institutions, as well as professors and other academic figures for meaningful and extensive interactions is greatly reduced and is largely limited to individuals or (rarely) institutions that have postmodern or leftist anti-imperialist tendencies and in fact consider ignoring the structure of international politics or applying pressure from global "hegemonic powers" as a form of political activism for themselves. Especially if these relations require financial support, these relations are more difficult and face more obstacles.
Appropriate staff for public diplomacy and scientific diplomacy
In parallel with the structure and law that must be appropriate for modern diplomatic relations, and in particular public diplomacy, the staff specializing in public diplomacy and in particular scientific diplomacy is one of the bottlenecks in the development of scientific relations. Typically, university international affairs officials are appointed from among professors of various disciplines and therefore generally lack expertise in the diplomatic field, especially scientific diplomacy. In addition, the country's scientific and cultural consultations around the world are always faced with the dilemma of whether a person who is an expert in scientific and cultural affairs is suitable for such tasks or a person who is an expert in negotiation and diplomacy.
Suggestions for scientific diplomacy:
Appropriate structure: As explained, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has both a general department called Public Diplomacy and cultural and scientific consultations in many of the country's missions around the world, which are in fact more or less in charge of public diplomacy, including scientific and cultural diplomacy. But at the same time, it can be said that this structure is not fully efficient and, above all, due to the lack of organic connections with universities and leading educational and research institutions in the country, they are more engaged in "propaganda" than in real scientific and cultural diplomacy. Looking at the structures that major European and North American countries have had in the past decades for public diplomacy, and especially scientific and cultural diplomacy around the world, including Iran, can be inspiring in terms of form and structure.
Staffing: In other words, science diplomacy is an interdisciplinary matter that connects science with diplomatic tools and the specialized matter of international relations. Perhaps it can be said that the best people for science diplomacy are those who have combined education at different levels and can both overlook the details of scientific issues and institutional needs, and at the same time have the ability to build institutions and repair the communication structure through interdepartmental and inter-institutional negotiations. In addition, by establishing structural communication between universities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is possible to provide skilled human resources by organizing training courses for professors and postgraduate students in various fields of science but who are interested in the affairs and relations of scientific diplomacy and international work. Branding: Since scientific diplomacy is a type of public and indirect diplomacy and its specific target is the social body, especially the scientific and cultural, there is a need for branding to fatten it. Just as Britain has chosen the name British Council for its scientific-cultural diplomacy activities and Germany has chosen the name Goethe-Institut and carries out all activities from language teaching to academic exchanges and other cultural activities under that name, Iran should also choose a recurring and unified name for its public diplomacy, and especially its scientific diplomacy, which will gradually strengthen it throughout the world.
Conclusion
The reality is that scientific diplomacy has been largely neglected in the country. The lack of structural coherence and inter-sectoral communication, the lack of concentration in a single department that can monitor, direct and strengthen all activities and use the existing hard and soft facilities to consolidate and accumulate forces in the field of scientific diplomacy, has caused most of the efforts to remain at the university level and in a scattered manner. By creating interdepartmental structures and using the Directorate of Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at least one leading university, we can prevent wasted opportunities. Then, by integrating and bringing together all relevant departments of universities and research institutes across the country, we can utilize their resources, faculty members, and graduate students to define and carry out various projects both inside and outside the country in partnership with foreign universities and institutions. Naturally, such an achievement will have a significant impact on entrepreneurship, foreign exchange inflows, and preventing elite migration.
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