How can scientists assist society and contribute to international policymaking – and just as crucially, how can society engage with and shape science? What will it take to make modern science diplomacy for the Anthropocene successful so that the benefits of science are furthered and its risks and harms, as far as possible, prevented?

In this article, we explore the relevance and usefulness of three areas of study to these questions: science diplomacy, the human right to science, and anticipation in the context of scientific and technological developments. We argue that a hitherto underappreciated aspect of science diplomacy – diplomacy (with)in science – has significant potential to complement anticipatory approaches such as the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator's (GESDA's) by furthering the same goals: ameliorating the negative impacts of scientific and technological developments and facilitating their benefits. We relate the concept of diplomacy (with)in science to the normative framework of the right to science under international human rights law and develop and motivate it further by illustrating two potential areas for its application.