The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Diplomatic Interventions

This lecture will highlight the roles and functions of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in diplomatic processes. HEIs have always been a part of foreign policies of their home governments or from transnational governance.
Furthermore, in the past, Horizon 2020 programs bankrolled by the European Commission (EC) have funded HEIs to undertake research into science and cultural diplomacy.

The discussion will include three main areas of focus:

Examining HEIs deeper imbrication in diplomatic praxis through adopting, adapting and extending the classic typology of the Royal Society and American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Connecting HEIs to the idea of ‘informal diplomacy’ to help uncover the de-politicized notion of HEIs as simple instruments of governments or Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs).

Mapping some manifestations of HEI activity that transcend traditional diplomatic ventures but also discusses the new spaces emerging in transnational governance for evolving forms of diplomatic praxis.

The lecture will take place in the Auditorium, Minaretein, in Education City.