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This book examines in depth science diplomacy, a particular field of international relations, in which the interests of science and those of foreign policy intersect. Building on a wealth of examples drawn from history and contemporary international relations, it analyzes and discusses the links between the world of scientists and that of diplomats. Written by a professor of economics and former Embassy counselor for science and technology, the book sets out to answer the following questions: Can science issues affect diplomatic relations between countries? Is international scientific cooperation a factor for peace? Are researchers good ambassadors for their countries? Is scientific influence a particular form of cultural influence on the world stage? Do diplomats really listen to what experts say when negotiating on the future of the planet? Is the independence of the scientist threatened by science diplomacy? What is a scientific attaché for?

Drawing upon extensive research in the United States, Colombia, and Great Britain, The Diplomacy of Modernization examines the evolution of United States foreign policy in Colombia between the world wars, concentrating on the period of the Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt administrations, years generally associated with the formulation and implementation of the Good Neighbor Policy. Historians of the United States-Latin American policy have concentrated on the giants of the inter-war years - Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina. Yet the second-ranking powers such as Colombia are particularly significant for an understanding of the factors which shaped inter-American relations, the objective of U.S. policy, and the impact of a major industrialized nation on a developing society. By the end of the First World War Colombia occupied an important, though clearly secondary, place in United States-Latin American policy. During the 1920s Colombia was the third- or fourth-ranking trading partner of the United States in South America. Her strategic proximity to the Panama Canal also made her adherence to a pro-United States position an important objective of Washington's policy, as did the promise of major petroleum reserves that were yet to be exploited. Conscious of these issues and concerned that the spark of nationalism generated by the Mexican revolution would inflame other developing nations in Latin America, United States officials in the 1920s and 1930s re-examined the methods of American diplomacy and gradually moved away from the cruder forms of military intervention, gunboat and dollar diplomacy. In analysing the commercial, financial, and industrial presence of U.S. interests in Colombia and their diplomatic manifestations, this study suggests the extent to which the United States erected a policy designed to provide primacy for American interests rather than the equality of treatment implied in the terms 'good neighbor' and 'open door.'

A review essay on a book by Heikki Patomaki, The Political Economy of Global Security: War, Future Crises and Changes in Global Governance (London & New York: Routledge, 2008).

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.

The article presents an analysis of the foundations of the formation of the concept of science diplomacy. The main problems of science diplomacy and its advantages as a mechanism of foreign policy are revealed.