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The Science Diplomat

@sciencediplomat.bsky.social
34 followers 165 following 140 posts

Independent reporting and analysis on science and power. www.thesciencediplomat.com

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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Science has become a target. And the world has seen it.” A Russian drone strike that severely damaged the headquarters of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences has drawn condemnation from the French government and scientific organizations across Europe. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/russian-st...
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Russian strike on Ukrainian academy draws European scientific condemnation
The attack has raised difficult questions about protecting scientific institutions and sustaining international cooperation during war.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The second article in The Pressure Series examines what happens when authority and operational capacity no longer reside in the same place. Read Part 2: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/when-autho...
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When authority is not enough
The Pressure Series — Part 2 of a five-part series.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This week, WMO and ITU bring meteorologists, spectrum regulators and telecommunications experts together in Geneva as growing demand puts pressure on frequencies used for weather, climate and water observations. Read Monday's Science Diplomat Playbook: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Weather forecasts depend on an invisible resource. Countries have to share it.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The first article in The Pressure Series examines how international organizations are adapting when evidence, regulation and politics no longer evolve on the same timetable. Read Part 1: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/when-the-w...
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When the world moves faster than governance
The Pressure Series — Part 1 of a five-part series.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
World leaders arrive in New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly — and science and technology run through much of the agenda. The Science Diplomat Playbook looks at the institutions, evidence and technical cooperation behind the diplomacy. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
At the U.N.’s biggest diplomatic week, science and technology are on the agenda.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Nuclear verification, cancer treatment, energy, food security and water management rarely appear in the same conversation. At the International Atomic Energy Agency, they are parts of the same mandate. The Science Diplomat Playbook maps the week ahead: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
The world's nuclear agency confronts the widening demands on its mandate.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Institutions say they want to think long term. Almost everything about how they operate rewards the opposite. In the latest installment of our “5 Questions” series, Amna Habiba speaks with Laurie Smith, head of mission discovery at Nesta. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/five-quest...
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5 questions with Laurie Smith
Thinking about the future without pretending to predict it
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The world has agreed on 23 biodiversity targets for 2030. Now comes the harder question: are countries actually on track to meet them? That’s the lead of this week’s Science Diplomat Playbook. Read it here: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
The world begins taking stock of its biodiversity targets.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
How do people and institutions make good decisions when certainty is impossible Most consequential decisions are made before all the evidence is available. The latest Science Diplomat Decision Intelligence Brief explores the field of decision science. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/decision-i...
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Decision Intelligence Briefs | No. 4: Science of decisions
How decision science helps people and institutions navigate uncertainty and complexity.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This week’s Science Diplomat Playbook looks at a question governments have debated for more than a decade: Is it time to negotiate international rules on autonomous weapons? Read it here: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Autonomous weapons talks reach a decision point.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean are putting a new emphasis on moving research from the lab into markets. At the AU-EU-Med Innovation Fair in Bari this November, 32 research projects, startups and SMEs will pitch food and agriculture technology. thesciencediplomat.substack.com/p/africa-eur...
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Africa-Europe-Mediterranean research: the lab-to-market gap
The 2026 A.U.-E.U.-Med Innovation Fair invites startups and research projects to pitch food and agriculture technologies, testing if research can reach markets.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
What happens when promising research has advanced beyond the grant stage but isn’t yet ready for private investment? That gap is a major focus of our conversation with Vincenzo Lorusso, E.U. co-chair of the A.U.–E.U. Innovation Agenda Working Group. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/science-di...
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S1E8: Vincenzo Lorusso on Africa-Europe science diplomacy, innovation and the path from research to market
Listen now (36 mins) | Independent reporting and conversations on science and governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
How do institutions learn? The final article in this series explores how governance systems evolve when they incorporate new perspectives, expertise, and ways of understanding problems. Participation opens the door. Institutional learning changes a system. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/from-voice...
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From voices to institutions
Participation matters but governance systems change with new ideas. Part 1 of a five-part series on participation in global science and technology governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
What if science diplomacy doesn’t stop with cooperation but extends to entrepreneurship, industrialization and markets? Brando Okolo, head of science, technology and innovation at the AUDA-NEPAD, argues the definition of science diplomacy is too narrow. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/brando-oko...
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Africa needs a broader model of science diplomacy, AU science official says
Brando Okolo argues scientific partnerships should build industrial capacity, entrepreneurship and more African influence in a changing global research system.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
What does science diplomacy look like when the goal is building scientific and technological power? In the latest episode of The Science Diplomat Podcast, Brando Okolo of African Union Development Agency-NEPAD brings a broad perspective to that question. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/science-di...
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S1E7: Brando Okolo on science diplomacy, African innovation, and building scientific power
Listen now (36 mins) | Independent reporting and conversations on science and governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Participation opens the door. Agenda-setting shapes the conversation. Part 4 examines how some participants move from being present in governance systems to helping define what those systems discuss in the first place. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/from-parti...
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From participation to agenda-setting
How things move from joining international systems to shaping them. Part 4 of a five-part series on participation in global science and technology governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This week's Science Diplomat Playbook looks ahead to a week in which land takes center stage in global environmental diplomacy. Governments gather in Ulaanbaatar for COP17 of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, opening two weeks of negotiations. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Land takes center stage as governments confront degradation, drought and a changing climate.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Who gets a vote? Who gets observer status? Who gets invited to speak? Who is considered an expert? Institutions don't just host participation — they structure it. Part 3 of the series. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/setting-th...
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Setting the terms of participation
International institutions create different kinds of participants. Part 3 of a five-part series on participation in global science and technology governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than the institutions designed to govern it. Our latest Decision Intelligence Brief maps that emerging ecosystem. The introduction is free to read. The emergence of AI governance institutions: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/decision-i...
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Decision Intelligence Briefs | No. 3: The emergence of AI governance institutions
How governments, international organizations, companies, and scientific institutions are building the rules for artificial intelligence.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Influence isn't usually built in a single meeting. It accumulates. Experience, relationships, expertise, and institutional memory often matter as much as formal authority. Part 2 of the participation series. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/before-the...
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Before the meeting begins
Why some participants arrive with a head start. Part 2 of a five-part series on participation in global science and technology governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
This week's Science Diplomat Playbook looks ahead to: • EU AI Act enforcement enters a new phase • Vietnam's science diplomacy conference • COSPAR's global space science assembly • Biodiversity negotiations in Nairobi Read Issue No. 16:
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Europe's AI Act enters a new phase as biodiversity, diplomacy and space shape the week ahead.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
We often think participation begins when delegates arrive at a conference. It usually begins months or years earlier. Networks, expertise, invitations, coalitions, preparation — all shape who arrives ready to influence outcomes. Part 1 of our new series: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/decisions-...
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Decisions before the decision
How global negotiations narrow long before the final vote. Part 1 of a five-part series on participation in global science and technology governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This week's Science Diplomat Playbook looks ahead to another busy week for the international institutions where science, technology and governance intersect. Read the latest issue here: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc... Subscribe to get it in your inbox: www.thesciencediplomat.com/subscribe
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
From oceans to orbit, scientific governance faces new stress tests.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Institutional memory is an overlooked casualty of the humanitarian funding crisis. At UNHCR, one of the world's most important refugee archives faces pressure from staff cuts, funding constraints and the challenges of preserving an expanding digital record. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/as-aid-fun...
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The Science Diplomat
Independent reporting and analysis on science and power. Click to read The Science Diplomat, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This week's edition of The Science Diplomat Playbook looks beyond announcements to examine what may be a defining challenge in international science diplomacy today: implementation. Read Issue No. 14 of The Science Diplomat Playbook: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Three years on, the AU–EU Innovation Agenda turns from ambition to delivery.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The Howard Raiffa Academy ended this week, but its participants are already thinking about what comes next. One theme emerged repeatedly: better decisions rarely come from better data alone. Read Lisa Palmer's latest from IIASA in Laxenburg: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-people...
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The people carrying decision science forward
Participants in the Raiffa Academy return to universities, governments and international organizations with new tools, new collaborators and shared approaches.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
China has launched a new intergovernmental organization dedicated to artificial intelligence, adding a significant new institution to the emerging landscape of global AI governance.
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China launches intergovernmental body to shape global AI governance
Twenty-nine countries joined the Shanghai-based organization as Beijing offered aid to developing nations.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
www.aretenews.com/china-launch...
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China launches intergovernmental body to shape global AI governance
Twenty-nine countries joined the Shanghai-based organization as Beijing offered aid to developing nations.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Ethics failures in government are often explained as failures of character, judgment or training. Avril Haines, speaking at the IIASA Raiffa Academy's inaugural Howard Raiffa Lecture in Vienna, argues the deeper problem is often institutional design. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/former-us-...
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Haines urges ethics rethink in national security decisions
At the Howard Raiffa Lecture, Avril Haines argued that behavioral science and decision analysis can help governments make more ethical decisions under pressure.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
On the second day of the Raiffa Academy’s inaugural short course, participants examined how decision-analysis tools can help clarify choices when scientific uncertainty persists, interests conflict and negotiations unfold under pressure. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/making-dec...
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From uncertainty to action: Decisions without perfect answers
At the Raiffa Academy, participants used decision-analysis tools to navigate scientific uncertainty, competing interests and negotiation under pressure.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The world has never had more scientific knowledge, computing power or research capacity. So why are so many global challenges still getting worse? A new UNESCO report has some insights. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/new-unesco...
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The world has the knowledge. Why can't it act?
A new UNESCO report argues scientific discovery is no longer the main constraint on sustainable development. The challenge is turning evidence into decisions.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Scientists know more than ever about climate change, pandemics, artificial intelligence and other global challenges. Yet governments often struggle to act on that knowledge. That was the premise behind the inaugural Raiffa Academy at IIASA this week. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/raiffa-day...
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Can decision science help fix the science-policy gap?
The Raiffa Academy opened with a premise that many global challenges suffer from failures in decision-making, negotiation and implementation, not lack of data.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
More than 200 economists, researchers and technology leaders have issued an unusual warning: policymakers may be underestimating the economic consequences of artificial intelligence. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/economists...
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Economists push AI debate beyond safety and regulation
A coalition of over 200 leaders argues that governments must prepare for economic disruptions that could arrive faster than previous industrial revolutions.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
This week’s Playbook looks at a question that sits at the heart of governance in an age of uncertainty: How can decision-makers make better choices when scientific evidence is incomplete, interests diverge, and the stakes are high? Read more: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
IIASA launches the Howard Raiffa Academy to explore how decision science can strengthen diplomacy and public policy.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
In the latest episode of The Science Diplomat Podcast, we spoke with Tracey Brown, chief executive of Sense About Science, about transparency, public accountability, scientific advice, journalism, and institutions that help societies determine what is true. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/tracey-bro...
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Evidence doesn't speak for itself, science advocate says
The Sense About Science chief says evidence must be open to scrutiny and democratic societies depend on institutions that help citizens determine what is true.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Who protects the cables that carry the internet? This week in Geneva, an international advisory body convened by the International Telecommunication Union approved a final report aimed at strengthening the resilience of this critical infrastructure. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/who-protec...
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Who protects the cables that carry the internet?
An ITU-led effort seeks to strengthen one of the world's least visible but most important infrastructure: submarine cables that carry over 99% of data traffic.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
For more than 160 years, the Red Cross emblem has carried a simple message in war: do not attack. What happens when hospitals, humanitarian groups and essential services exist not only as buildings and vehicles, but as networks, servers and digital systems? www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/icrc-digit...
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As war moves online the Red Cross wants its emblem to follow
The ICRC launches a new phase of a project to extend protections to cyberspace as hospitals, groups and critical services become vulnerable to online attacks.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
In the latest The Science Diplomat podcast, Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science, reflects on a question at the center of science, journalism, and public policy: why does some evidence lead to action while other evidence is ignored? Listen here: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/science-di...
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S1E6: Tracey Brown on evidence, accountability, and the public interest
Listen now (51 mins) | Independent reporting and conversations on science and governance.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The U.N. has spent years debating AI governance. This week in Geneva, a clearer picture began to emerge of what that might look like. The first U.N. Global Dialogue on AI Governance suggested the future may rely on coordination across national systems. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/un-ai-gove...
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The U.N.'s AI governance vision relies on coordination
Discussions in Geneva revealed concern over fragmented regulation, unequal access to computing power and the need for safeguards that can evolve alongside AI.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than governments can regulate it. This week, the international system begins testing whether it can organize itself to govern it. Issue No. 12 of The Science Diplomat Playbook is now available. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
The global conversation about artificial intelligence moves from scientific assessment to political negotiation this week in Geneva.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
A new U.N. scientific assessment warns that artificial intelligence could create a new form of global inequality — one defined not by access to technology, but by influence over how it is governed. Read the latest in The Science Diplomat: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/un-panel-w...
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Who governs AI? U.N. panel warns access alone is not enough
Preliminary report argues that countries may gain access to AI while losing influence over the standards, infrastructure and governance systems that shape it.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
How does scientific knowledge reach policymakers? Governments rely on evidence to make decisions on issues ranging from public health and climate change to emerging technologies, yet pathways connecting research and policymaking are often poorly understood. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/decision-i...
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Decision Intelligence Briefs | No. 2: How scientific knowledge enters policymaking
Mapping the institutions, networks, and mechanisms that connect expertise to decision-making.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
New Science Diplomat Playbook: 🇨🇭 Switzerland reaches "Glacier Loss Day" 🇮🇷🇺🇸 U.S.-Iran technical talks move to Doha 🤖 AI and drones on the U.N. counterterrorism agenda 🌍 New research on climate migration Plus other developments to watch in science diplomacy: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
Switzerland’s glaciers are reaching a threshold that extends beyond ice loss.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Incoming IPU Secretary General Anda Filip argues that national parliaments must become more active internationally as AI, democratic backsliding and geopolitical tensions reshape global governance. Read more: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/ipu-parlia...
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Why parliaments are emerging as a frontier of AI governance
Incoming IPU Secretary General Anda Filip argues lawmakers must play a larger international role as artificial intelligence reshapes democratic institutions.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Who gets to shape the scientific knowledge that informs global decision-making? That question sits at the heart of a new partnership between Barbados and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Read more: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/barbados-s...
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Barbados seeks a seat where global science agendas emerge
The Caribbean nation’s path toward IIASA membership reflects a broader effort by climate-vulnerable countries to influence science frameworks that inform them.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
A growing number of scientists, science advisers and officials argue the next leader of the United Nations must also be capable of navigating a world increasingly shaped by climate science, AI, biotechnology, quantum technologies and other disruptions. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/next-un-le...
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The next U.N. leader may need to be a science diplomat
As governments begin positioning, scientists and leaders make a new argument: the secretary-general's job is increasingly shaped by science and technology.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The U.S.-Iran agreement entered its implementation phase. After two days of talks in Switzerland, political negotiators are leaving. Technical teams are staying. In other words: the science diplomacy phase has begun. New in The Science Diplomat: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/us-iran-ag...
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The U.S.-Iran agreement enters its implementation phase
As negotiators establish a roadmap, attention shifts to the inspectors, technical experts and verification systems that could determine whether it succeeds.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
New in The Science Diplomat Playbook No. 10 At the Bürgenstock, U.S.-Iran diplomacy moved from political agreement to the harder task of turning commitments into operational arrangements. Technical talks continue this week as IAEA prepares for verification. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-scienc...
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The Science Diplomat Playbook
From nuclear agreements to digital health systems, institutions are spending this week confronting how to turn political commitments into operational reality.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
IIASA was founded during the Cold War to bring scientists from rival countries together. At a festival this week discussions focused on science diplomacy, systems analysis and decision intelligence as tools for bridging the gap between knowledge and action. www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/iiasa-inte...
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IIASA emphasizes science diplomacy and decision intelligence
Researchers and advisers debated the role of science diplomacy, decision intelligence and systems thinking in addressing cross-border challenges.
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The Science Diplomat @sciencediplomat.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
When political leaders sign an agreement, the hard part often begins afterward. The new U.S.-Iran memorandum places the International Atomic Energy Agency at the center of implementation, verification and trust-building. Read more: www.thesciencediplomat.com/p/the-iaea-p...
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The IAEA prepares for the next phase of the Iran agreement
As Washington and Tehran move from ceasefire diplomacy to implementation, Rafael Grossi says technical talks and verification will determine what comes next.
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