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Building Networks of Diplomatic Cooperation: Opportunities for U.S

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Building Networks of Diplomatic Cooperation: Opportunities for U.S A Report of the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development AUGUST 2014 AUTHORS Daniel F. Runde Amasia Zargarian Building Networks 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20036 t. 202.887.0200 | f. 202.775.3199 | www.csis.org of Diplomatic Cover photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelaston/2088347127/. Cooperation Opportunities for U.S.-Venezuela Science Cooperation Blank Building Networks of Diplomatic Cooperation Opportunities for U.S.-Venezuela Science Cooperation Authors Daniel F. Runde Amasia Zargarian A Report of the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development August 2014 About CSIS For over 50 years, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has worked to develop solutions to the world’s greatest policy challenges. Today, CSIS scholars are providing strategic insights and bipartisan policy solutions to help decisionmakers chart a course toward a better world. CSIS is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center’s 220 full- time staff and large network of affiliated scholars conduct research and analysis and develop policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. Founded at the height of the Cold War by David M. Abshire and Admiral Arleigh Burke, CSIS was dedicated to finding ways to sustain American prominence and prosperity as a force for good in the world. Since 1962, CSIS has become one of the world’s preeminent international institutions focused on defense and security; regional stability; and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global health and economic integration. Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn has chaired the CSIS Board of Trustees since 1999. Former deputy secretary of defense John J. Hamre became the Center’s president and chief executive officer in 2000. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views expressed herein should be understood to be solely those of the author(s). © 2014 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved. Center for Strategic & International Studies 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 202-887-0200 | www.csis.org Contents Introduction 1 Background 2 Science Diplomacy 2 Science Diplomacy and the U.S. Government 3 U.S.-Venezuela Relations in the Chávez Era 3 Challenges to Science in Venezuela 4 Cooperation around Biodiversity: The Promise of Research and Action on Invasive Species 6 Cooperation around Seismology 8 Recommendations 9 About the Authors 11 | III Blank Introduction The United States currently maintains formal diplomatic relations with all but five United Nations member-states.1 In addition to these five countries, there are states— including Venezuela—with which U.S. relations continue to be strained. In most such relationships, cooperation across societies is challenging, hampered by seemingly insurmountable political differences between governments. When official cooperation at the higher levels of government proves infeasible, it is often in the interest of both countries to pursue alternative, more informal approaches, sometimes referred to as “Track II diplomacy.” Such forms of diplomacy allow for exchanges of people and ideas to build confidence between the two sides. Ideally, the modest gains in trust from Track II diplomacy will translate into a broader opening for political rapprochement. A notable form of Track II approaches is science diplomacy, which has been an effective component of the U.S. government’s diplomatic toolkit since the Cold War. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which has been an integral partner for CSIS in this project, delineates science diplomacy into three categories: “science in diplomacy,” “diplomacy for science,” and “science for diplomacy.”2 This project focuses on the latter understanding of “science for diplomacy,” namely that cooperation around science can improve diplomatic relations between two (or more) countries. One of the most prominent American proponents of deepening science diplomacy is the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, which has in the past pursued similar science-based cooperation initiatives with respect to Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. CSIS has been one of the partners working with the Lounsbery Foundation on science diplomacy, and in August 2012, the CSIS Americas Program published a report on the prospects for U.S.- Cuba academic and science-based exchanges, exploring science diplomacy in the context of an essentially nonexistent diplomatic relationship.3 This report thus builds on previous efforts by the Lounsbery Foundation and its partners, including the CSIS Americas Program, to pursue avenues for science diplomacy between the United States and countries with which it has a complicated relationship. This initiative is also part of the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development’s ongoing work on finding alternatives in the U.S. government’s approach to countries with which the bilateral relationship should reflect cooperation beyond traditional assistance. This report is the product of a year-long project to connect Venezuelan and American scientists and institutions with one another. In addition to many interviews with regional and science policy experts, the project involved a CSIS research trip to Venezuela as well as a conference in Washington, D.C., that brought together American and Venezuelan scientists and science policy officials for an off-the-record discussion to identify concrete opportunities for cooperation. 1 Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. 2 AAAS, “Information for Authors,” Science & Diplomacy, 2013, http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/author-info. 3 Stephen Johnson, U.S.-Cuba Academic and Science-Based Exchanges (Washington, DC: CSIS, August 2012), http://csis.org/files/publication/120821_Johnson_U.S.-CubaExchanges_Web.pdf. | 1 Background The United States and Venezuela both possess rich and broad scientific legacies; initial attempts to foster science diplomacy between the countries, however, can be effective only if they focus on a limited set of jointly predetermined areas of science. These focus areas should ideally represent fields not only of strength for both countries’ science communities, but also fields in which each side offers comparative advantages. Through conversations with its partner organizations, CSIS was able to narrow down its initial list of potential areas of cooperation to two fields: biodiversity and seismology. In terms of the former, Venezuela is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Venezuela also experiences its fair share of earthquakes, and as a result, has developed a reputable seismological research capacity. The topics of biodiversity and seismology are likewise of high importance to the American science community, with the United States and Venezuela sharing many of the same challenges in these areas. Given that these particular scientific topics are rarely (if ever) politicized, they were identified as ideal points around which to connect the American and Venezuelan scientific communities, with the ultimate goal of establishing a more permanent and official mechanism for exchange between the two societies. In October 2012, CSIS researchers visited Caracas and met with scientists from prominent Venezuelan scientific institutions, including the Simón Bolívar University (USB), the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), and the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS).4 Of these, the former two are major public universities whereas the latter two are government-affiliated research institutes. In Caracas, the CSIS team also met separately with officials at the U.S. Embassy in order to learn about the U.S. government’s position on this issue. The embassy personnel expressed favorability toward deeper science relations between the two countries but also pointed out, correctly, that any U.S.-backed initiatives in Venezuela must maintain a low profile, at least in the current atmosphere. The research trip itself was preceded by extensive dialogue between CSIS and government and nongovernment science cooperation experts in the United States. In addition to AAAS, the authors also consulted representatives from the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Smithsonian Institution, among other organizations. These partners drew upon their own experiences with cross-country science cooperation in Latin America to help CSIS identify the right interlocutors in Venezuela. Science Diplomacy Science diplomacy ultimately brings together actors from different countries to collaborate on issues that are apolitical and that transcend national borders. Such cooperative arrangements are necessary because problems such as natural disasters, endemic diseases, and invasive species are regional (and sometimes global) and can only be combated in tandem by all affected parties. To take unilateral action on such problems is tantamount to addressing their symptoms, not their causes. 4 To maintain confidentiality and ensure open discussion, all interviews were conducted on a not-for- attribution basis. 2 | DANIEL F. RUNDE AND AMASIA ZARGARIAN Civilian scientist exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union, for example, were one of the earliest forms of cooperation between the two superpowers during the Cold War. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S.-Russian science cooperation has continued, particularly in the area of health;
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