The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2016 75 AFSA NEWS Using Diplomacy to Meet the New Threat Set On June 2, AFSA welcomed former Canadian Foreign Service Officer Daryl Cope- land to engage with AFSA members in a wide-ranging discussion about the foreign policy challenges ahead. Mr. Copeland opened the conversation by stating that the greatest threats to safety and security today are climate change, diminishing biodiversity, environmental collapse, pandemic disease and water shortages. Unlike more “traditional” threats, which can be specific to a group or region, he said, these new threats affect the entire world. Solving them will require diplomacy that is focused on human centered security and development— something best achieved through dialogue, negotiation and compromise. But a world system is now emerging, Mr. Copeland said, in which states, groups and even individuals derive power and influence from dissimilar sources—social, economic, political, military or cultural. This makes diplomatic processes more difficult, since each state or non- state actor (for example, the United Nations or Médecins Sans Frontières) has its own power bases, priorities and aims. New Tools Quoting Einstein, Mr. Copeland explained: “No problem can be solved by the same kind of thinking that created it.” Diplomacy has to change; the modern diplomat needs to make use of new tools to be effective. One of those tools, he suggested, is science diplo- macy—specifically, diplomats coming together to advance scientific objectives. It is important to make the distinction between scientific cooperation—which takes place within the scientific community—and science diplomacy, which is backed by the state. State-backed science diplomacy is necessary to solve the world’s worst crises. For the best solu- tions, Copeland feels that it is important to have scien- tific advisers involved in the diplomatic process from the outset. This will be a challenge because scientists and diplo- mats have different training and ways of thinking, which can lead to difficulty commu- nicating. The real difficulty, said Copeland, is achieving engagement. Science is a complex, esoteric subject, practiced by people who almost speak a different language. Science Diplomacy By helping scientists to speak in terms of ”sci- ence policy” rather than the language of the lab, diplo- mats can explain how they can benefit each other and, together, benefit the world. Copeland singled out the United States as a leader in integrating politics and science. He noted that Sec- retary of State John Kerry has a full-time science and technology adviser (currently Dr. Vaughan Turekian) and, while the advice is not always taken, at least it is there to be heard. During a Q&A session following his talk, Cope- land discussed the need to provide science and technol- ogy courses within interna- tional relations programs, use American Spaces to promote science diplomacy and re-establish science and technology as a priority at the Department of State. Visit http://afsa.org/ videos to see a video of the event. n —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Daryl Copeland answers questions from the audience during his discussion of the new threat set. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK