It’s that time of the year again. A time of expectation and jubilation. A time of press junkets and photobombs. A time of pomp and circumstance and a time of high level negotiations. It’s the time of the UN’s annual General Assembly when leaders, foreign ministers and diplomats swarm to New York to redraw borders,... Continue Reading →
Monday’s Must Read List
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- Afghan women hit back at Taliban with #DoNotTouchMyClothes campaign (BBC News)Game changer: The first Olympic games in the cloud (MIT Technology Review)China’s Technology Workers Get Unions (Voice of America)The next chapter... Continue Reading →
In the age of Covid19, are Pharma companies diplomatic actors? A Twitter Analysis
Are tech giants diplomatic actors? This question has occupied scholars and commentators for several years. Some have argued that social media companies have obtained a form of digital statehood. Facebook, for instance, displays many trappings of a state including a citizenry, a currency and a diplomatic branch charged with managing relations with offline states. Others... Continue Reading →
What are the future challenges for digital diplomacy?
Last week I had the opportunity to partake in a conference organized by the Diplo Foundation asking- what do we mean when use the term “digital diplomacy”. During the conference I was asked three questions on the past, present and future practice of digital diplomacy. This post includes my answer and analysis. Q: How... Continue Reading →
What Do We Mean When We Talk About Indian Soft Power?
The following remarks were made at the 2021 Namaste Conference on Indian Soft Power In his renowned article from 1990, Joseph Nye sought to imagine how America would exercise power in the post- Cold War era. Power, asserted Nye, rests on the ability to change the behavior of other states. This can be achieved through... Continue Reading →
Monday’s Must Read List
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- WHO says Covid misinformation is a major factor driving pandemic around the world (CNBC)Can Technology Help Weed Out Disinformation Online? (Gov Technology)How can Singapore partner big tech to fight fake news?... Continue Reading →
How the US Army Visually Narrates the Fall of Afghanistan
In a blog post published last week, I examined how different actors framed, or narrated, the Taliban’s conquest of Afghanistan. Examining the use of digital diplomacy by world leaders, Embassies, diplomats and individuals, I demonstrated that social media are a competitive framing arena in which multiple actors vie over the attention of digital publics while... Continue Reading →
Monday’s Must Read List
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- DOD awards $1B contract to Peraton to counter misinformation (FedScoop)Russian Hypersonic Technology Expert Accused of High Treason (Militray.com)CCTV watchdog criticises Hikvision Uyghur response (BBC News)The UN climate report pins hopes on... Continue Reading →
Real Time Diplomacy: How Social Media Accelerates Diplomacy
In September of 1952, the world was shocked to learn that Israel and West Germany has signed an accord promising financial reparations to the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany. Until that month, Israel had vowed to never recognize, negotiate or interact with West Germany. The accord was made possible once German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, made... Continue Reading →
Monday’s Must Read List
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- What Is Carbon Capture Technology? (NPR)Voice AI Technology Is More Advanced Than You Might Think (Forbes)Cloud seeding in the UAE: The modern technology that’s making it rain in the desert (Gulf... Continue Reading →