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In a classic episode of the television show “Yes Prime Minister”, the Civil Servant Humphrey Appleby explains the logic of British diplomacy saying: “The Foreign Office is pro-Europe because it’s really anti-Europe. The civil service was united in its desire to make sure that the Common Market didn’t work. That’s why we went into it.... Continue Reading →
Last week, the Financial Times published an AI generated image of Presidents Putin and Trump kissing. The headline read “Fakes in the Post-Truth Era”. The term post-truth was first coined in 2016 by The Economist Magazine. The Economist was referring to the impact of social media on politics in general, and American politics in particular.... Continue Reading →
Advertisers argue that attention is a finite resource. According to one study, individuals in the digital society are exposed to 8,000 advertisements a day. Given humans’ limited capacity for information processing, this barrage of advertisements is mostly ignored or forgotten within seconds. This means that if commercial brands are to compete successfully for the attention... Continue Reading →
On January 18, 2024, the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, and the State Department, invited me to discuss my work on Digital Diplomacy. In this 45 minute lecture, I argue that in order to research digital diplomacy one must first research the digital society. This is because diplomacy is a social institution. When societies adopt new... Continue Reading →
The digital world is presently marked by an exceptional contradiction. On the one hand, a digital and interconnected world necessitates various forms of global governance. Global agreements, institutions and frameworks are what enable the free flow of information, capital, and resources across borders. Moreover, global institutions are essential for crisis management in an interconnected world... Continue Reading →
On Thursday, July 28th, a video supposedly touting the benefits of moving to Russia began to gain traction on Telegram. Titled “This is Russia”, the video identifies the many benefits of moving to Russia at this moment in time. For instance, unlike Europe or America, Russia currently boasts cheap gas, fertile soil, low-priced electricity, delicious... Continue Reading →
On Monday, the Council of the European Union published a policy report outlining the EU’s new approach to digital diplomacy. As I argue in this blog post, the EU’s policy report is important for three reasons. First, it was published in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine War in which digital technologies have played a crucial... Continue Reading →
It is often said that practice makes perfect. While Ukraine’s digital diplomacy is not perfect, the Ukrainian government has gained valuable expertise in using digital technologies. Indeed, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukraine has employed a host of innovative digital tactics. These include the creation of a hacker army; crowdfunding aid for its... Continue Reading →
In an article from January, 2020, Matthew Ball wrote a lengthy article describing the vision of the Metaverse. Facebook’s announcement that it would seek to create the Metaverse was still months away. In an upcoming event (Thursday, Nov 11) organized by International Cultural Relations, a select group of scholars will discuss the Metaverse and its... Continue Reading →
In a recent ISA conference panel, I argued that now is the age of nostalgia. Throughout the world we are witnessing an insatiable longing for the past. In the post-Brexit haze, the UK craves the influence and power of its defunct empire; in Turkey neo-Ottoman sentiments have transformed a President into a Sultan; Americas have... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 