Fifteen years after the Royal Society and AAAS first introduced the concept of science diplomacy, both organisations have returned to the subject to reassess its role in the face of ongoing geopolitical upheaval. Their recent reconceptualisation (Science Diplomacy in an Era of Disruption, 2025) alongside the European Commission’s new framework – A European Framework for Science Diplomacy (2025) – reflect ongoing efforts to adapt the initial conception of science diplomacy to today’s rapidly shifting global landscape. These new publications acknowledge the critique that science diplomacy has often been overly optimistic, and whilst it is potentially a useful mechanism of international cooperation and bridge-building, it is now equally recognised as a site of contestation, competition, and assertion of technological sovereignty. These redefinitions invite critical reflection on the historical trajectories of science diplomacy especially in moments of crisis and geopolitical change.
For the 2026 ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting in Edinburgh, we welcome submissions for a symposium that seeks to examine how science diplomacy has functioned, faltered or adapted during times of geopolitical crisis, rapid technological change, or social transformation. We encourage papers that foreground the historical tensions, negotiations, and shifting roles that crises make visible. We invite proposals that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Science diplomacy as a site of negotiation between national interests and international collaboration.
- Historical episodes where crises reshaped practices of science diplomacy (e.g. inter-war period, post-Cold War transition, decolonisation).
- Failures, breakdowns, or limits of science diplomacy in moments of crisis.
- Research security, sovereignty, and the geopolitics of knowledge in times of uncertainty.
- The role of international organisations, academies, and professional societies in shaping science diplomacy.
- The role of non-state actors in shaping or contesting international scientific collaboration.
- The role of women, indigenous communities or otherwise marginalised groups in reshaping science diplomacy practices.
- How times of disruption have enabled or constrained new forms of participation in global science.
By situating science diplomacy within histories of disruption, this symposium aims to foster conversations that resonate with the conference’s theme, “Shifting Perspectives: Plural Worlds, Contested Sciences.” We particularly welcome contributions that engage with marginal voices, contested truths, and plural epistemologies in order to rethink the place of science diplomacy in a fractured and rapidly changing world.
Authors are expected to present original and unpublished work (20 min talk; in-person) at the ESHS/HSS Joint Meeting in Edinburgh (13–16 July 2026). We warmly welcome all contributions. Submissions from early career scholars are especially encouraged.
Submissions should include the following:
- Author name, email, and affiliation
- Paper title
- Abstract of 2,000 characters or fewer (approximately 250 words)
Please email submissions and any questions to alice.naisbitt@manchester.ac.uk by Friday 31st October, 12:00 UTC.
This symposium is sponsored by the DHST Historical Commission on Science, Technology and Diplomacy (STAND). https://sciencediplomacyhistory.org/
Funding for attendance. The STAND Commission is applying for funds to support the participation of early-career researchers in STAND-organised and STAND-sponsored panels. If you are already putting together a panel on themes relating to science, technology, and diplomacy, please consider applying for STAND sponsorship by writing to Jaehwan Hyun/jhwanhyun@pusan.ac.kr. This will enable early-career participants on your panel to apply for STAND grants to support their attendance at the meeting.
DHST Commission on Science, Technology and Diplomacy 
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