Re: how scientists are involved in diplomacy --- A great thread of discussion, and from my empirical observation I would back all responses that the interplay with/actions of science in international relations (and I don't just mean internat. political relations) can take all of these forms.

This makes it even harder for us to clearly distinguish what science diplomacy is, as we might even extend it to 'diplomatic' behaviour in conversations between academic staff (in the sense that you are expressing/broaching issues in a candid, mild, euphemistic, concealed and influencing way).

Not least, we should not forget that many so called scientific authors in the field of science diplomacy follow a hidden entrepreneurial/political agenda. So, there is a lot of self-adulation by (official) scientists to be relevant actors in science diplomacy for marketing reason.

Source author: Tim Flink tim.flink@hu-berlin.de