This book focuses attention on the foreign policy institutions of developing nation states, a relatively neglected area in the comparative study of adaptation to international change.

Proceedings of the International Workshop on "Science and Technology Diplomacy for Developing Countries", held at Tehran during 13-16 May 2012.

This book provides a developing country perspective on the internationalization of science and the role of Science, Technology and Innovation Diplomacy (STID) in leveraging scientific cooperation for sustainable development. In articles by individuals from government departments and academic & research institutions in nine developing countries, it provides a conceptual understanding of the subject and reveals the prevailing perceptions on its praxis/practices. The articles highlight the significance of international cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels and the need for strengthening the role of STID in foreign policy and strategies of governments. The book is a useful reference material to government officials, diplomats,academicians, researchers, science counsellors, international relations experts, science and technology professionals and other stakeholders from the developing countries and transition economies, dealing with economic and developmental policy issues and/or science, technology and innovation (STI) issues in understanding the praxis and prospects of STID. The book is also useful for scholars and international relations experts from developed countries in understanding STI and related issues that affect the relationship of developing countries and transition economies with their partners from the developed world. ​

This volume explores the foreign policy environment facing developing nations and their particular foreign policy-making structures and processes. By defining foreign policy broadly to incorporate the activities of a range of state actors and non-state actors, the book broadens the range of analytical frameworks for studying foreign policy-making in developing nations. Thus, the actions of small groups of elites, international institutions and transnational networks are seen to be part of foreign policy-making, as well as the traditional operations of foreign ministries. The volume is comprised of an extensive introduction, four thematic chapters, six country studies and a conclusion that ties together common themes. These serve as a useful contribution to the analysis of foreign policy-making in developing nations, a neglected area in the comparative study of foreign policy.

This book shows how small countries use "big" diplomacy to advance national interests and global agendas – from issues of peace and security (the South China Sea and nuclearization in Korea) and human rights (decolonization) to development (landlocked and least developed countries) and environment (hydropower development). Using the case of Laos, it explores how a small landlocked developing state maneuvered among the big players and championed causes of international concern at three of the world’s important global institutions – the United Nations (UN), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Recounting the geographical and historical origins behind Laos’ diplomacy, this book traces the journey of the country, surrounded by its five larger neighbors China, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia, and influenced by superpower rivalries, from the Cold War to the post-Cold War eras. The book is written from an integrated perspective of a French-educated Lao diplomat with over 40 years of experience in various senior roles in the Lao government, leading major groups and committees at the UN and ASEAN; and the theoretical knowledge and experience of an American-trained Lao political scientist and international civil servant who has worked for the Lao government and the international secretariats of the UN and MRC. These different perspectives bridge not only the theory-practice divide but also the government insider-outsider schism. The book concludes with "seven rules for small state diplomacy" that should prove useful for diplomats, statespersons, policymakers and international civil servants alike. It will also be of interest to scholars and experts in the fields of international relations and foreign policies of Laos, the Mekong and Asia in general.

This edited collection draws upon interdisciplinary research to explore new dimensions in the politics of image and aid. While development communication and public diplomacy are established research fields, there is little scholarship that seeks to understand how the two areas relate to one another. However, international development doctrine in the US, UK and elsewhere increasingly suggests that they are integrated–or at the very least should be–at the level of national strategy. This timely volume considers a variety of cases in diverse regions, drawing upon a combination of theoretical and conceptual lenses that combine a focus on both aid and image. The result is a text that seeks to establish a new body of knowledge on how contemporary debates into public diplomacy, soft power and the national image are fundamentally changing not just the communication of aid, but its wider strategies, modalities and practices.