Part one of a two-part Kelman Seminar series on common-interest building in negotiation introducing the origins of science diplomacy as a ‘language of hope’ with transdisciplinary methods of natural sciences, social sciences and Indigenous knowledge inclusively – building common interests or resolving conflicts become choices at the start of any negotiation.
Professor Paul Arthur Berkman introduced the origins of the field of Science Diplomacy. Berkman sees Science Diplomacy as a ‘language of hope’ incorporating the transdisciplinary methods of the natural sciences, social sciences and Indigenous knowledge. Berkman showed how these methods, when introduced at the start of any negotiation, can inclusively build common interests to help resolve conflicts. Berkman offers that these knowledge systems have evolved over millennia for purposes of decision-making, and involve the six elements of inclusion taught to every child: who, what, when, where, why and how.
Berkman shared the history of the field of Science Diplomacy starting with the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. He highlighted the research-into-action approach he employed when he co-directed the first formal dialogue between NATO and Russia regarding security in the Arctic. He also discussed his coordination of the 2023 Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change (GIYSCC), involving more than 1300 registrants from 112 nations across 88 distinct languages.
Watch the seminar recording below:
About the Herbert C. Kelman Seminar Series:
The Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution series is sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. The seminar considers ways to strengthen the capacity to prevent, resolve, and transform ethnonational conflicts.