This book addresses the understudied phenomenon of why and how contemporary international higher education, research and innovation can contribute to strengthening international relations. The author proposes the concept of knowledge diplomacy and carefully examines its fundamental rationales, actors, principles, instruments, and strategies. This is the first book that compares the similarities and differences between knowledge diplomacy and related terms such as soft power, cultural diplomacy, science diplomacy and public diplomacy to capture the expanding role of international higher education and research in bilateral and multilateral relations. The analysis of initiatives from around the world helps to ground and illustrate the key features of a knowledge diplomacy approach. "This book makes a highly original and important contribution to the study of knowledge diplomacy and soft power. It brings together the latest thinking and trends in the study of contemporary diplomacy and international higher education. The author is well known for the clarity and perspicacity of her definitions and analysis and this applies to her in-depth examination of knowledge diplomacy which she convincingly distinguishes from soft power and other forms of diplomacy. The discussion of issues and challenges which require further exploration and research will be valuable to international relations and international higher education scholars, policy makers and students.” Professor Ruth Hayhoe, University of Toronto, and President Emerita, the Education University of Hong Kong "This timely book offers a sound framework for studying the expanding role of higher education, research and innovation in international relations. A key strength is that viewpoints and experiences from all of the world’s regions have been included in this lucid, interdisciplinary contribution to our understanding of knowledge diplomacy.” Professor Jan Melissen, Leiden University and University of Antwerp, Editor-in-Chief The Hague Journal of Diplomacy “This is a must-read book for scholars, policy makers and diplomats who want to understand how international higher education, research and innovation can help to address the complexities of contemporary global challenges through knowledge diplomacy.". Professor Chika Sehoole, Pretoria University, South Africa

In this open access publication it is shown, that sustainable low carbon development is a transformative process that constitutes the shifting from the initially chosen or taken pathway to another pathway as goals have been re-visited and revised to enable the system to adapt to changes. However, shifting entails transition costs that are accrued through the effects of lock-ins that have framed decisions and collective actions. The uncertainty about these costs can be overwhelming or even disruptive. This book aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated analytical framework that promotes the understanding of transformation towards sustainability. The analysis of this book is built upon negotiative perspectives to help define, design, and facilitate collective actions in order to execute the principles of sustainability. Dr Dr Ariel Macaspac Hernandez is currently a researcher at the German Development Institute belonging to the research cluster knowledge cooperation and environmental governance. He was/is also a lecturer on negotiations, conflict and resource management, sustainability politics, environmental governance, climate change policies, development aid and sustainable energy systems in various universities in Germany, Philippines, Jamaica, Estonia, Spain and Mexico.

In this handbook, a group of 40 scholars and practitioners from some 30 countries takes a critical look at the contemporary practice of diplomacy. Many assume diplomacy evolves naturally, and that state- and non-state actors are powerless to make significant changes. But Diplomacy’s methods, its key institutions and conventions were agreed more than six decades ago. None take account of the opportunities and vulnerabilities presented by the Internet. Diplomacy is now a neglected global issue.The COVID pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine have highlighted some of the problems of diplomatic dysfunction. Beyond identifying current problems diplomacy is facing, the book also seeks to identify some practical options for reform and innovation. How might a process of reform be agreed and implemented? What role might the United Nations, regional organizations and Big Tech play? How can new norms of diplomatic behavior and methods be established in a multipolar, digital world where diplomacy is seen as less and less effective?

Knowledge and Diplomacy presents papers on knowledge and knowledge management from the January 1999 Conference on Knowledge and Diplomacy in Malta. Knowledge management, a popular new concept in the business sector, offers great potential for diplomatic services. The papers in this book, examining the topic from a variety of backgrounds, academic interests and orientations, reflect the multidisciplinary character of knowledge management.

Africa’s unique position as an international diplomatic actor has not always been given the attention it deserves. This volume bridges this gap by offering a fresh, comprehensive and realistic overview of African diplomacy. The book examines African diplomatic practice. Chapters explore how different types of diplomacy have developed over time, including energy diplomacy, economic diplomacy and quiet diplomacy. Crucially, the book assesses how certain events have allowed Africa to use certain types of diplomacy to yield better outcomes for itself. Including contributions from an international team of scholars, policy makers and experts from the diplomatic world, the book provides a comprehensive guide to African diplomacy and challenges the current dominant usage of Northern perspectives on diplomacy studies.

The Rhetoric of Soft Power: Public Diplomacy in Global Contexts provides a comparative assessment of public diplomacy and strategic communication initiatives in order to portray how Joseph Nye's notion of "soft power" has translated into context-specific strategies of international influence. The book examines four cases--Japan, Venezuela, China, and the United States--to illuminate the particular significance of culture, foreign publics, and communication technologies for the foreign policy ambitions of each country. This study explores the notion of soft power as a set of theoretical arguments about power, and as a reflection of how nation-states perceive what is an increasingly necessary perspective on international relations in an age of ubiquitous global communication flows and encroaching networks of non-state actors. Through an analysis of policy discourse, public diplomacy initiatives, and related programs of strategic influence, soft power in each case represents a localized set of assumptions about the requirements of persuasion, the relevance of foreign audiences to state goals, and the perception of what counts as a soft power resource. This timely analysis provides an unprecedented comparative investigation of the relationship between soft power and public diplomacy.