An approach to the theoretical and conceptual foundations of contemporary academic diplomacy

Abstract

Since ancient times, diplomacy has been a foreign policy instrument of governmental agents for the fulfillment of their national objectives. However, the incursion of new actors on the international scene, associated with the processes of globalization and the development of new technologies and trade, has led to the need to broaden the scope of traditional diplomacy. In this context, academic diplomacy appears as a relatively new term, for which there is still no agreed definition among the national and international scientific community. Some authors associate this word with other forms of diplomacy, such as science diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and knowledge diplomacy. While others incorporate its use as a complement to the current experiences of internationalization of Higher Education. Consequently, this paper aims to analyze the theoretical foundations of academic diplomacy in terms of the fulfillment of foreign policy objectives. For this purpose, a qualitative perspective is used from a dialectical-materialistic approach. The research techniques employed are the bibliographic file, content analysis and standardized interviews. As a result, academic diplomacy is identified as a form of public diplomacy that involves the use of instruments typical of traditional diplomacy. In turn, it is established that this represents a key concept to understand and promote the internationalization of Higher Education.