The virus vs. science diplomacy

The virus vs. science diplomacy

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A month ago, I was in Brussels for a meeting with National Contact Points of the European Commission’s Marie Curie Actions, and one of the suggestions I made during the discussions was making science diplomacy a key strategy for interregional cooperation.

For the past years, our Marie Curie Alumni Association network has been discussing about the intersections of science and foreign policy, especially with the expanding understanding that science and technology affect so many of the challenges and opportunities that current societies face, whether as a driver or a potential solution.

The past months, this was getting clearer as we battle a common crisis across the globe in the form of the CoViD-19 virus.

According to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, the pandemic raises our awareness of the importance of science, both in research and international cooperation. Integrating science into foreign policy to not only advance national interests but also to tackle shared global challenges is an appropriate response.

It is for this reason that the United Nations is mobilizing international cooperation to harness the power of science to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, while also working with partners to explore innovative crisis responses tools.

UN Sec.-Gen. Antonio Guterres said, “The CoViD-19 pandemic is a public health emergency — but it is far more. It is an economic crisis. A social crisis. And a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.”

China has been receiving strong criticism over alleged cover up in the early stages of the virus transmission. However, even with the questioned slow reaction from the government, a group of Chinese scientists who shared their findings were instrumental in informing the public of the issue.

In January, a team of scientists from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre & School of Public Health published the initial viral genome on two open-access sites, drawing praise for the swiftest sequencing effort ever. Later that month, Chinese doctors and scientists reported the first description of the new disease in the Lancet medical journal. Richard Horton, Lancet editor wrote that even with immense pressure as the epidemic broke out around them, these scientists took time to publish their findings in a foreign language for a medical journal thousands of miles away.

The CoViD-19 pandemic forces the world to assess not only its health systems and safety protocols but it also pushes us to question our global governance systems, local and international crises response, security and more importantly, international cooperation.

As the virus affects everyone, how do we work together, effectively? How do we unite behind the science? There is a thought-provoking video on CoViD as a wake-up call which claims that this global virus scare was not just predictable but inevitable, which makes the skyrocketing economic and human costs of the crisis all the more unacceptable.

If the international community does not respond by creating new global structures to deal with such outbreaks in the future, it will be guilty of criminal neglect.

In 1300 B.C, a Peace Treaty between Ramesses II and Hattusili III was believed to have been signed because of the desire for the strengthening of the relationship between the two adversaries through a simple exchange focused on science.

The treaty is regarded as one of the most cited examples of a formalized agreement between two societies, as the written record of the agreement from both sides survived. Egyptologist Massimo Franci describes an exchange between the two monarchs, in which Hattusili sends a message to Ramesses asking, “Could you send me one of your doctors to help my sister get pregnant?”

Benjamin Franklin, in the late 18th century, was sent by the American Colonies as its Minister to France in the hope of getting support in the revolution against the British. It can be argued that while Franklin may have his standing in governance, it was his reputation and achievements as a scientist and innovator that allowed him to establish common ground as it demonstrated that like the French, the leaders of the rebellion were men of the Enlightenment where science was highly regarded.

During the Cold War, institutions such as UNESCO, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and the International Atomic Enegy Agency were created as ways to link scientists from East and West even in the face of tensions and negative peace.

CoViD-19 is a nightmare for all of us on a global scale but it could jumpstart a new wave of international cooperation.

The virus has shown us how increasingly interconnected we are, and how we are interdependent as well. As argued by Kemal Davis and Sebastian Strauss, the “pandemic prevention and containment is a global public good”.

In order to not only survive but also surpass this challenge as a community, we need to increase our global coordination, as well as adaptive and complementary strategies, especially as it relates to scientific discovery.

To re-echo the words of Gordon Brown, “Many of the challenges we face today are international and –whether it’s tackling climate change or fighting disease — these global problems require global solutions… That is why it is important that we create a new role for science in international policy-making and diplomacy . . . to place science at the heart of the progressive international agenda.”

Science diplomacy is not new, but today it is critical. History has shown us that advances in science were a result of exchanges, and the flow of ideas and people. Foreign policy and international cooperation need to adapt and upgrade it tools, techniques, and tactics to a world of increasing scientific and technical complexity.

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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