The Foreign Service Journal - September 2016

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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.
the
event. n
—Gemma Dvorak,
Associate Editor
Daryl Copeland answers questions from the audience during his discussion of the new threat set.
AFSA/GEMMADVORAK