Science Diplomacy and Vaccine Nationalism A Proposal for Pakistan's Vaccine Development Complex

Science diplomacy (SD) is an initiative to solve the challenges emanating from non-traditional security. These challenges impact the whole international community and must be coped with joint efforts. scientific and technological progress brought nations together and the spread of technologies and technological cooperation among nations upgraded the overall living standard of people. The study focuses on the political side of technology transfer as part of vaccine nationalism; big powers have either tried to control or limit the transfer of technology. The strict technology transfer regimes are the watchdogs that make sure that technology remains in the hands of few. In the case of Covid-19, many states who were manufacturing vaccines in large numbers refused to provide those to other developing countries. In the same context, Pakistan has also been facing a discriminatory approach and preferential treatment by Western countries. Pakistan has been suffering from most viruses throughout history including polio, Dengue, Chikungunya, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever and pandemics like COVID-19, but always got vaccines that severed the interest of first-world countries. The study proposed that keeping in view the nationalist policies of Western countries, there is a dire need to develop a vaccine development complex in Pakistan to deal with all viruses and upcoming future pandemics.