HOW CAN SCIENCE DIPLOMACY ASSIST TO SUPPORT THE EU’SPOLICY GOALS?

Abstract

Recently, there has been greater interest in science diplomacy because countries acknowledge the importance and value of science as a strategic foreign policy tool. The European Union (EU) as one of the most significant economic and political unions in world politics has also begun to apply science diplomacy to have a locomotive role in international discussions about the global challenges and increase the union’s soft power potential by leading the example in the issue. Since addressing global challenges is one of the top priorities of the union, climate change as one of the most urgent issues of today’s world has found a place for itself in the EU’s extending science diplomacy activities. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the motives of the EU’s extending activities in field of science diplomacy, mainly climate change, while discussing how the EU’s increasingly visible policy decisions in field of science diplomacy assists them to support its policy goals on the subject of addressing the global challenges. The article supports the conclusion that the union’s decision to give greater role to science diplomacy is mainly related to remaining a global power in world politics and achieving its aims with respect to the wider world.