 Who protects Science Diplomacy from being weaponised? The role of domestic policiesEva Hartmann No 95eby_v1, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science Abstract: Many researchers have voiced concerns about the weaponisation of policy-relevant international research collaborations. But why does this pose a problem? This contribution develops a Neo-Gramscian notion of science diplomacy to explain how processes of weaponisation risk undermining the mediation role of scientific research, its capacity to integrate diverse perspectives and values, and, consequently, its ability to mediate between conflicting norms, values and interests. Drawing on Nicos Poulantzas’s state theory, the article further elaborates the concept of mediation and illuminates the role of national parliaments as an important mediator between academia and civil society, more generally, and the government. The empirical study explores parliamentary deliberations of the UK National Security Bill in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It shows how the parliamentary scrutiny failed to curb the significant expansion of governmental authority justified in the name of security, with important consequences for how academics engage with other governments as part of science diplomacy. The findings shed light on the significance of public policy and domestic political struggles for international politics. In the context of an ongoing crisis of multilateralism, domestic political dynamics have become even more important. Date: 2026-10-12 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:95eby_v1 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in SocArXiv from Center for Open Science |
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