Academic diplomacy

Abstract

By distinguishing academic activities for peace from research work only supporting peace, this chapter looks at how academic diplomacy enables conflicting parties to enter into peace work without political costs. For academics, participation in practical peace work can reveal dynamics that can help them formulate theorizing useful for conflicts in general. Much of the literature on academic diplomacy for peace concentrates on external scholars’ experiences, or presents guidelines for external practitioners. The role of local academia has received less attention. The literature, however, shows the importance of the connections between external experts and local academia, as well as the conditions supporting local knowledge production on peace and conflicts. What appears to be essential is the freedom of academia to play a role. The statistical correlation between peace and academic freedom suggests that the competence to prevent and resolve conflicts is critically dependent on accurate knowledge and legitimacy of that knowledge.