(27/03/2021) CfP: “Diplomacy without Diplomats”: the role of think tanks and universities in public and science diplomacy at regional and global levels

Globalization has led to the intensification of activity and to the increase in importance of non-state actors such as international organizations and non-governmental organizations in diplomatic relations, as well as to the emergence of new “diplomatic” fields and actors. The essential broadening of “diplomacy” scope has turned traditional diplomacy into “new diplomacy”, characterized by a lesser state-centricity. The growing attention to the “new diplomacy” concept in both political and academic realms in recent decades was also related to its link with “public diplomacy” and “soft power”. Moreover, “new diplomacy” is frequently considered in the framework of a wider concept of global governance which involves actions at the international, transnational, and regional levels (Leira, 2018). Furthermore, in the conditions of contemporary diplomacy which is increasingly requiring expert knowledge, a growing number of expertise providers can become more influential based on their « nonterritorial” or global forms of authority (Sending et al., 2011).

Therefore, while the role of non-state actors has been regarded as particularly important in new diplomacy’s success, the contribution of such expertise providers as think tanks and universities to new diplomatic practices beyond state-to-state level remains to be revisited and further explored. Accordingly, this panel welcomes papers discussing the role and practices of think tanks and universities in “new” forms of diplomacy (science diplomacy, public diplomacy, digital diplomacy) at regional/European or global levels empirically, methodologically as well as theoretically.

Keywords: new diplomacy, public diplomacy, science diplomacy, non-state actors, think tanks, universities

Submission procedure

Please include in your proposal, which should be sent to the panel chair by email (tatyana.bajenova@unil.ch) no later than March 27, 2021, following information: full co-authors list with their affiliations and e-mail addresses (up to 10 authors), the abstract title (up to 150 characters), the abstract text (up to 1800 characters), as well as a short presenting author’s biography in English (up to 600 characters).

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