Secretary Albright Speaks at AAAS Meeting: Science at the State Department

“So science provides the only sure basis for reaching agreements that can not only be signed, but implemented...” - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

On February 21, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Selected portions of her remarks on the linkages between science and diplomacy are quoted below. The full text of Albright’s address can be found on the State Department web site at http://www.secretary.state.gov/www/statements/ under “February 2000.”

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”...[T]oday, there can be no question about the integral role science and technology must play in our diplomacy and more generally in world affairs.”

“This afternoon, I want to talk about the intersections between science and diplomacy, and how they are making a difference on issues and in parts of the globe that matter to Americans. Then, I would like to describe some specific steps we will be taking to ensure that our foreign policy takes full advantage of all available scientific and technological expertise. For we have learned that our diplomacy is most effective when we have a full set of tools at our disposal. And that in a world being transformed by science, good science is one of the tools most vital to good diplomacy. This is not theory. It is proven fact.”

“Since the dawn of the nuclear age, science has informed our efforts on arms control.... Our challenge - which we are meeting - is to use our growing knowledge to make arms control more effective and to broaden its scope. Often this is based on improvements in remote sensing and other verification technologies.... Simply put, arms control often is rocket science. And we must keep good rocket scientists in our midst if we hope to keep doing it well.”

“The oceans are another area where wise management and international cooperation are required. Fish don’t respect marine boundaries. And the economic stakes are high. So science provides the only sure basis for reaching agreements that can not only be signed, but implemented to bring about the best sustainable use of marine resources.... Good science helped us shift the debate away from unresolvable issues of ‘equity’ to the development of rules for conservation of salmon stocks and habitat.”

“Of course, diplomacy and science are not negotiated in a vacuum. Governments respond to many forces, including economic and trade interests, as well as the values and fears of their people. That has certainly been the case with recent international differences about the perceived risks and benefits of biotechnology.... We fought and succeeded in basing that agreement on good science. That small victory could yield big benefits for Americans and consumers worldwide. But we know that the biotech controversy has not fully been resolved.... The Biosafety negotiation shows that simply having good science is not always enough. The science must be part of a larger long-term strategy to educate publics and work with governments to address concerns and find practical solutions to specific problems. In fact, on many of the issues where my field intersects with yours, this may be the closest thing we have to a working formula for success.

“This formula certainly accounts for our advances in the area of global climate change.... [O]n this issue more broadly, the United States has not only been out front in doing the science; we have been out front in communicating the science publicly, and in a coordinated and energetic way. So that whatever international disagreements there are about how to deal with this challenge - and there are plenty - almost all of them concern how to address it, not whether a problem exists. For that we can thank the S&T community, working through such bodies as the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change. This Panel is a model of how governments and scientists can work together to develop international consensus.”

“I don’t want to imply that this very selective discussion I’ve just gone through is exhaustive. There are a number of other commercial, regional, and security-related subjects on which our ability to integrate science and diplomacy is vital to success.”

“I noted earlier what a profound service the National Research Council has performed in answering my request to study the ways and means by which the State Department may better fulfill its S&T responsibilities.... Within the next few weeks, I will be receiving the final report of a Departmental Task Force on Strengthening Science at State.”

“As a start, next month I will issue a Policy Statement setting forth my commitment to enhance the Department’s ability to handle S&T issues and to improve our access to the experts who can help us. Second, I want to begin building an enhanced leadership and management structure for these issues across the Department. I will appoint a Science Advisor as soon as possible, who will be located within the Under Secretariat for Global Affairs.... I also intend to establish a Science Directorate within the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. I do not intend to limit consideration of science at State to the Global Under Secretariat or the OES Bureau. Rather, we should aim for a network of small clusters of solid scientific competence throughout the Department, wherever they are needed to wrestle with tough problems.”

“I plan to review the Department’s recruitment, training, and promotion policies to upgrade and broaden our in-house scientific expertise. I will launch a review of our Science Counselor positions worldwide, and decide which need to be upgraded. New Delhi, I can promise you already, is one that will.

“And I want to forge a truly active partnership with the S&T community. That means more and better communication with outside scientists. It means co-sponsoring regular roundtables on key issues...and it means better use of Internet technology to follow developments in technology. I have no illusions that these changes will be quick or easy. After all, it doesn’t take a physicist to know that change is harder than inertia.”

“Science, perhaps even more than diplomacy, carries with it the hopes of people everywhere who seek a future better than the past.... As we strive to shape the future together, America’s diplomats must have scientists in our ranks and by our side. And you must be able to inform our efforts with what you know and can help us understand.”