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AbstractWhether it is in climate change negotiations, pandemic scares, security threats or sustainable development agendas, science and technology are today at the heart of international affairs. Yet there is still limited academic work that deals with the complex relationships between international diplomatic and scientific endeavours. How can we bridge this divide and possibly 'rebalance' the encounter between the practice of science diplomacy, its practitioner‐driven literature, and the discussions of international relations theory (IR) that underpin the study of world politics? Here we propose that this move could start from a more explicit placing of science diplomacy discussions across the IR spectrum. We pose that taking seriously science 'diplomacy', whilst undoing conventions around the hitherto limited 'IR' reading of science in its literature, would do well in establishing this reality not just as a domain of reflective practitioners, but as an effective launchpad for international theorizing as much as more academically‐driven practice.

AbstractScientific advancements, their application through technological development, and world politics have been long acknowledged as affecting each other, and are today more than ever at the heart of global policy. Speaking of 'science diplomacy' as the encounter of world politics and the world of science at the heart of these advancements might be a unique window into our time. This potential is what prompts this special issue to gather views from a variety of scholarly and practical viewpoints, linking the well‐established world of reflective practitioners in science diplomacy to the growing field of international relations (IR) scholars theorising this realm. Can speaking of 'science diplomacy' situate our attention at the crossroads of science and international relations, and spur greater appreciation for their intersections? This introduction to the special issue summarises the rise of science diplomacy as field of inquiry, and casts questions as to the need to advance, where not reform, these conceptualisations. It defines science diplomacy as a 'boundary problem' par excellence and emphasises its 'productive tension' that emerges between the various ways of knowing of actors belonging to 'different social worlds', seeking to gather a productive tension of views on this theme in the issue.

This book examines the role of technology in the core voices for International Relations theory and how this has shaped the contemporary thinking of 'IR' across some of the discipline's major texts. Through an interview format between different generations of IR scholars, the conversations of the book analyse the relationship between technology and concepts like power, security and global order. They explore to what extent ideas about the role and implications of technology help to understand the way IR has been framed and world politics are conceived of today. This innovative text will appeal to scholars in Politics and International Relations as well as STS, Human Geography and Anthropology. Carolin Kaltofen is Research Associate in Science Diplomacy in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London, UK. Madeline Carr is Associate Professor in International Relations and Cyber Security in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London, UK. Michele Acuto is Professor of Global Urban Politics in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia.--

Intro -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Chapter 1 Conversations on Technology and IR -- Abstract -- A Dialogue on Technology and the Role of a Discipline -- Rediscovering IR's Affair with Technology -- An Intergenerational Dialogue -- Debating Tech at the Heart of IR -- A Field Report on the Technologies of IR -- Chapter 2 Theory Is Technology -- Technology Is Theory -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 3 A Double-Edged Sword? Blayne Haggart in conversation with Susan Sell -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 4 Everyday Tech: In Search of Mundane Tactics Michele Acuto in conversation with Saskia Sassen -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 5 Curiosity, Criticality and Materiality Can E. Mutlu in conversation with Mark B. Salter -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 6 The Meta-Power of Technology -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 7 Culture, Diversity and Technology -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 8 Experts, Matters and Actor-Networks -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 9 From Nuclear Weapons to Cyber Security: Breaking Boundaries -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 10 Technologies of Violence -- Abstract -- Chapter 11 Postinternationalism on Technology, Change and Continuity -- Abstract -- Chapter 12 Technology: From the Background to Opportunity -- Abstract -- Works Referenced -- Chapter 13 'New Technologies': Questions of Agency, Responsibility, and Luck -- Abstract -- Works Referenced.