There is continuing interest in policy understanding of the international development of science - what it means in terms of international cooperation and identity, and how patterns will change in future.
Nature have just started an online Middle East site, partly in Arabic. Reflects continuing interest in the development of science in the region and in countries with majority Muslim populations. I went a few weeks ago to the launch of a Royal Society project The Atlas of Islamic-World Science and Innovation which their science policy staff are pursuing over the next couple of years, looking at how science is developing in a range of case study countries. The interest in some countries is in how they will invest their substantial resources in new science and technology - for all there is an interest in how the development of science changes the path of development. This moved with James Wilsdon from Demos, originating in the earlier Atlas of Ideas projects.
This is also clearly linked in with ideas on public diplomacy - how collaboration and communication across national boundaries and outside formal diplomatic channels can aid engagement between different states. We have seen this develop in the UK for museums with the idea of cultural diplomacy, and more recent expression in the idea of science diplomacy: the Royal Society again produced a report on this in early 2010, following a meeting in 2009.
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