Water Diplomacy — The New Modus Operandi of EU Diplomacy? Innovative Methods in Diplomatic Practice

Abstract

This article explores how EU water diplomacy can enrich the current debate on science diplomacy, primarily in the science in diplomacy category. It aims to contribute to the debate on diplomatic instruments and their innovative elements. It focuses on new practices in the field of water diplomacy, including (1) the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in the diplomatic process from an early stage, (2) a multi-dimensional approach, and (3) multidisciplinary science-based diplomacy. More generally, the article identifies and conceptualises particular diplomatic methods, (1) the internalisation of scientific expertise, (2) cross-cutting lexical understanding across diplomatic agendas, and (3) pluri-disciplinarity, which facilitates the interconnection of science and diplomacy within a diplomatic framework. It thus addresses the commonly acknowledged challenge of interaction between scientists and diplomats and shows that analysis of diplomatic methods may bring more clarity to the peripheral or often neglected science in diplomacy category of science diplomacy.