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On Governments and Cyberspace In 1996 John Perry Barlow published the Deceleration of Independence of Cyberspace. In his manifesto, Barlow envisioned cyberspace as a world that is detached from the physical one, a world that would offer its inhabitants a new marketplace of ideas and free speech far from the tyranny of government. For in Barlow's... Continue Reading →
Over the past few months I have dedicated much time to investigating if the potential of digital diplomacy has been realized. By and large, it's fair to say that digital diplomacy channels target three audiences: foreign populations, journalists and foreign diplomatic institutions. When examining the degree to which foreign ministries (MFAs) and embassies follow one another,... Continue Reading →
The underlying assumption of nation branding is that countries have images, whether they manage them or not. Moreover, some believe that national images serve as stereotypes as they enable people to make sense of the world around them. Viewing national images as stereotypes leads to the conclusion that altering a nation's image is a prolonged... Continue Reading →
Please note: This post was recently modified. It originally included an account that was found to be fake. The author would like to thank @YeniDiplomasi for its feedback and calling his attention to this fake account. During the recent outbreak of violence in Gaza, the IDF's (Israeli Defense Forces) use of social media received widespread attention from international news... Continue Reading →
Two weeks ago I purchased a copy of the Financial Times before boarding a plane in Geneva. I admit that this was a bold decision given the fact that I have a very poor understanding of financial matters. Yet what surprised me about this specific issue of the FT was not its content but rather... Continue Reading →
Over the past few months, I have dedicated much time to analyzing the social networks of digital diplomacy. My assumption was that ministries of foreign affairs, embassies and other diplomatic institutions now routinely follow one another on social networks such as twitter and Facebook. This assumption was based on the fact that by following their... Continue Reading →
From a diplomatic perspective, the European Union (EU) is a baffling entity. On the one hand, it represents a political union of 28 member states. As such, it has governing bodies, legislative bodies and a foreign service that promotes the E.U.'s interests around the world. On the other hand, each member state in the E.U.... Continue Reading →
A Swedish diplomat once asked me how one can reduce the complexities of international diplomacy to a 140 character tweet. I responded by saying that Twiplomacy must be regarded as an art form, one that uses the language of twitter in order to condense foreign policy initiatives or official statements into short bursts of diplomacy.... Continue Reading →
Last week I had the opportunity to address a group of ambassadors to the UN Headquarters in Geneva. The topic of discussion was the current practice and potential of digital diplomacy at the embassy level. Following my presentation, the ambassadors asked me what are followers of digital diplomacy channels looking for? Why have they decided... Continue Reading →
Traditionally, the mass media has played an important role in the world of diplomacy. This is a result of the fact that the majority of the population learns about its government's foreign policy and global events from the news. However, journalists and news organizations do not simply relay information to the public but rather offer their... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 