Science Diplomacy of Poland

The science diplomacy can be perceived as a relatively new category in the particular field of international relations where we may observe how science intersect with foreign policy. Science and technology advancement are recognized as a source of power and influence in the contemporary international relations. Being a part of international scientific cooperation and knowledge exchange is seen as one of the variables of power as well as a solution for the most pressing global challenges e.g. climate change, health threats. Though most of the states are trying to adapt to the changes and modify their foreign policy strategies by adding a new area of activity which is foreign scientific and technology policy. Poland is at the early stage of defining and conceptualizing its national strategy of science diplomacy. Although there is a common consent among Polish decision-makers and experts that science and technology (understood either as a goal or as a tool to reach other goals of the Polish foreign policy) should be prioritized in our external activity, the policy coordination is still one of the challenges. The objective of the paper is to analyse the actions taken by the Polish government, diplomatic service but also institutions, organisations or even individuals representing Polish scientific community in the spectrum of science diplomacy. In particular the goal is to analyse the effectiveness of these actions and to identify the factors affecting said effectiveness from the subjective perspective of those who are involved in conceptualization and implementation of the science diplomacy actions. In the paper I’ll present results of the series of semi-structured individual interviews with the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, governmental agencies specializing in science and technology policy (e.g. Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange), the Polish Academy of Science and its international office in Brussels (Polish Science Contact Agency PolSCA) and the representatives of Polish scientific community.