Digital diplomacy, also referred to as Digiplomacy and eDiplomacy (see below), has been defined as the use of the Internet and new information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives.
However, other definitions have also been proposed. The definition focuses on the interplay between internet and diplomacy, ranging from Internet driven-changes in the environment in which diplomacy is conducted to the emergence of new topics on diplomatic agendas such as
cybersecurity
Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...
, privacy and more, along with the use of internet tools to practice diplomacy.
Platform-specific terms that have also evolved in this diplomacy category include
Facebook diplomacy,
Twitter diplomacy, and Google diplomacy.
Overview
The UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 ...
defines digital diplomacy as 'solving foreign policy problems using the internet', a narrower definition that excludes internal electronic collaboration tools and mobile phone and tablet-based diplomacy. The US State Department uses the term 21st Century Statecraft The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development calls it Open Policy.
Digital diplomacy can be practiced by state agencies such as Foreign Ministries, embassies and consulates, individual diplomats such as ambassadors or ambassadors-at-large, and non-state actors such as civil society and human rights groups.
History
The first foreign ministry to establish a dedicated ediplomacy unit was the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
, which created the Taskforce on eDiplomacy in 2002. This Taskforce has since been renamed the
Office of eDiplomacy and has approximately 80 staff members, about half of which are dedicated to ediplomacy-related work.
In April 2022 the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
set up a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP). Although there is no generally accepted definition, "in this report, we consider 'cyber diplomacy' to be efforts that support U.S. interests in cyberspace internationally, led by the Department of State." Indeed, the new CDP bureau brings together the many disparate initiatives set up under the Obama Administration under the hyphenated term
United States cyber-diplomacy encompassing Hillary Clinton's 21st century statecraft.
Other foreign ministries have also begun to embrace ediplomacy. The UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 ...
began to develop a digital diplomacy strategy in 2008 and now has an Office of Digital Diplomacy that is involved in a range of ediplomacy activities.
Sweden has also been active in promotion of digital diplomacy, especially through the online communication strategy of its foreign minister
Carl Bildt
Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing as its lead candidate in four general elections, b ...
who soon became 'best connected Twitter leader'.
In July 2012, global
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
and communications firm
Burson-Marsteller studied the use of Twitter by heads of state and government, referred to as
Twitter diplomacy. The study on Twiplomacy found that there were 264 Twitter accounts of heads of state and government and their institutions in 125 countries worldwide and that only 30 leader's tweet personally. Since then, the attention on digital diplomacy as a tool of public diplomacy has only increased. In 2013, USC Center on Public Diplomacy has named 'Facebook recognizing Kosovo as a country', as one of the top moments in public diplomacy for 2013.
In 2014, the Swedish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
hosted the
Stockholm Initiative for Digital Diplomacy conference. The initiative evolved into informal online campaigns under the umbrella #DiplomacyUnited, coordinating the work of a dozen embassies in Washington, D.C.
According to the Twiplomacy Study 2020, published in July 2020, 98 percent of UN member states had a diplomatic presence on Twitter.
Only Laos, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe and Turkmenistan lacked representation on the social network.
Facebook diplomacy
Facebook diplomacy is a user created hybrid of
public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
and
citizen diplomacy as applied in the Facebook social networking platform. After some earlier informal use the term ''Facebook diplomacy'' was described at a New York conference on social networking and technology in December 2008.
During the December conference in New York, the United States Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy, James Glassman said, "New technology gives the United States and other free nations a significant advantage over terrorists." In his presentation at New York's Columbia University Law School, he went on to illustrate how Facebook diplomacy and on-line activism created success through the use of Facebook groups and the use of the platform to create activism and cause global awareness relative to issues in Colombia against the infamous FARC rebels.
Facebook ambassador may refer to Facebook Garage Ambassadors who are dedicated to the technical aspect of Facebook development. Research 'Facebook Developer Garage' and 'Garage-In-A-Box'.
Opportunities in digital diplomacy
The rise of social media as a tool in diplomacy has given way for states to strike up two-way or “
dialogic" communication with other diplomatic actors and their foreign publics, compared to the one-way nature of traditional public diplomacy.
While traditional diplomacy occurs offline in relative privacy, online diplomacy has allowed a multitude of actors to discuss foreign policy-making, increasing the impact of public opinion on the foreign policy agenda.
This method of diplomacy provides additional avenues for other actors to engage in co-creation with influential people and organizations on multilateral diplomatic campaigns.
An example of this would be the 2012-2014 Campaign to End Sexual Violence in Conflict launched by then British foreign secretary
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
, which used a multi-channel digital and offline approach to engage UN organizations as well as states.
A video featuring co-created content by
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...
, a UN Special Envoy, supporting the campaign managed to attract 15,000 views, compared to the foreign secretary’s similar video, which only attracted 400 views.
This ability for states to listen to their audiences' perceptions of their foreign policy is considered another potential benefit of digital diplomacy.
It can provide a new means for states who have severed formal diplomatic ties to collect information about each other’s foreign policy positions.
For example, despite the states' strained diplomatic relationship, the U.S. State Department follows the Iranian president on Twitter.
Access to social media as a diplomatic channel has also changed the relative influence of diplomatic actors from states thought to possess little
hard power
In politics, hard power is the use of military and economics, economic means to social influence, influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies. This form of political power is often aggressive (coercion), and is most immediately ...
– or power achieved through material resources strength – amongst other diplomatic actors.
A study done by Ilan Manor and Elad Segev in 2020 measured the social media mobility of ministries of foreign affairs and UN missions to New York, finding that states with less hard power could use social media to become “supernodes” in online diplomatic networks.
This is also referred to this as the “theory of networked diplomacy”.
Challenges in digital diplomacy
Though states have managed to achieve diplomatic prominence online through their use of Twitter and other online channels, these new diplomatic channels do not come without risks. Messages and images shared on social media platforms, particularly Twitter, have already given rise to diplomatic crises.
In 2018,
Global Affairs Canada
Global Affairs Canada (GAC; ; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department of the Government of Canada that ...
tweeted a statement calling on Saudi Arabia to release imprisoned human rights activists. In response, Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic and trade ties with Canada, declaring the country’s ambassador
persona non grata
In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...
and recalling Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Canada.
The incident escalated when a pro-government Twitter account later tweeted an image of an Air Canada plane flying in the direction of Toronto’s CN Tower, with the text, “He who interferes with what doesn’t concern him finds what doesn’t please him.” The image incited criticism from many on social media due to perceived parallels between the image and the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
Digital platforms have also enabled the spread of disinformation used to undermine states’ international and domestic stability, such as the
interference of the Russian government in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
See also
*
Alliance Française
(; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...
*
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...
*
Cultural Diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is a type of soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose of cultural diplomac ...
*
E-government
E-government (known for electronic government) involves utilizing technology devices, such as computers and the Internet, for faster means of delivering public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region. E-government offer ...
*
Government by algorithm
Government by algorithm (also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algocratic governance, algorithmic legal order or algocracy) is an alternative form of government or social ordering where the usag ...
*
Office of eDiplomacy (US)
*
Open government
Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...
*
Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence with the aim of bui ...
*
Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia
*
Twitter diplomacy
*
United States cyber-diplomacy
*
USC Center on Public Diplomacy
References
Further reading
*
* Bjola, Corneliu / Manor, Ilan (eds.) (2024): The Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 09 May 2024.
*Sottilotta, Cecilia Emma (2024) A “Battle for Hearts and Minds”? EU Digital Diplomacy towards the Global South, Digital Diplomacy and Statecraft Working Paper n.2, GIGA Hamburg, https://pure.giga-hamburg.de/ws/files/49423351/GIGA_DigitalDiplomacyStatecraft_WP_02_Sottilotta.pdf Retrieved 04 December 2024.
* Westcott, Nicholas (2008)
Digital Diplomacy: the Impact of the Internet on International Relations Oxford Internet Institute, Research Report 16, July 2008
External links
Digiplomacy definitionTwiplomacy - Mutual Relations on TwitterDigital DiplomacyDiploFoundation topic page
Digiplomacy NewsFacebook Diplomacy (comic)Facebook Diplomacy (Newsweek)Facebook Diplomacy: State 'friends' the World
Ranking of Governments in Digital Diplomacy - MediaBadger
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