For the past three decades, scientists and policymakers in the Global South have practiced science diplomacy under neocolonial conditions. Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have further complicated science diplomacy on public health, revealing the marginalisation of actors in the Global South. Yet, existing models, practices, and modes of engagement in the Global South may subvert and strategically navigate these neocolonial conditions. How can these models be collated in a dynamic and flexible way such that knowledge gained through new experiences is used iteratively across contexts? How can scientists increase multilateral, interdisciplinary, and transversal partnerships while navigating complex governmental and international structures?

For this special issue, we call for papers that demonstrate innovative and flexible models for science diplomacy, with a focus on public health and health promotion policies. We aim to collect evidence across various aspects of public health research which demonstrates the practical role of science diplomacy in the Global South, as well as the structural challenges faced on the ground. While South America and Asia have received scholarly attention, especially in incorporating decolonial thinking and heritage diplomacy, less has been studied in the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, less has been done in framing science diplomacy in terms of neocolonialism in order for its root structure to be constructively challenged.

Areas to be covered may include, but are not limited to:

• building partnerships among stakeholders across the Global South to ensure practical implementation of public health research.
• modes by which scientific research is grounded in local culture and context.
• the role of stakeholders in furthering health promotion, including governments, the UN, NGOs, academia, and the private sector.
• case studies which balance the participation of researchers from the Global South with the representation of gender, ethnicity, and disability.
• positioning researchers as protagonists irrespective of geographies and state hierarchies in the international system.
• turning governments’ financial power in research into a force for the good rather than a tool of neocolonialism.

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Frontiers in Public Health

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