From Cooperation To Contestation: The Normative Turn in Science Diplomacy (2010–2025)

Between 2010 and 2025, science diplomacy experienced a multidimensional transformation, shifting from a predominantly technical function into a strategic domain situated at the intersection of global governance, ethical imperatives, and political complexity. Initially shaped by efforts to institutionalize cross-border scientific cooperation, the field gradually expanded to address normative concerns such as epistemic equity, inclusive participation, and open access to knowledge. Catalyzed by crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine disparities, and contested regimes of data governance, science diplomacy evolved into both a platform for international collaboration and a space of geopolitical contention. The implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science in 2021 played a key role in reinforcing values-based governance and promoting diversified knowledge ecosystems. Over time, a broadening array of actors, including academic institutions, municipal bodies, Indigenous networks, and youth movements, has contributed to decentralizing and reshaping diplomatic engagement. In parallel, the strategic instrumentalization of science through data nationalism, sanctions, and digital infrastructure control underscored the growing entanglement between scientific practice and geopolitical rivalry. As a result, science diplomacy has emerged not only as a means for responding to transnational challenges but also as a contested arena in which the principles, ownership, and direction of global knowledge governance are being actively negotiated.