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Two years ago the Dutch Foreign Ministry held a Digital Diplomacy Camp. Over the course of two days, the Camp offered a platform for diplomats, journalists, scholars and representatives of social media companies eager to discuss the digitalization of diplomacy. In one session, Jay Wang of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy reflected on online... Continue Reading →
In the autumn of 1990, Joseph Nye sought to re-imagine what American power would like in the 21st century. Writing near the end of the Cold War, Nye offered scholars and policy makers a new conceptual framework through which they could understand power dynamics in a changing world. The Cold War would soon be over,... Continue Reading →
It began with a necklace. A diamond necklace to be precise. It was purchased from two Jewish jewellers on behalf of the French Queen Marie Antoinette in 1785. The necklace, comprised of 647 stones, and weighing 2,800 carats, never made it to the Queen. Rather, it fell into the hands of a charlatan women who... Continue Reading →
Over the past week, several newspapers have published stories focusing on the activities of U.S. embassies during Pride Month. Specifically, these stories have dealt with the creative ways in which some embassies hoisted the rainbow flag during Pride Month. Unlike the Obama era, the Trump administration has banned the use of the rainbow flag thus preventing... Continue Reading →
This week I was interviewed for the Israeli MFA's podcast on digital diplomacy- Persona Grata. In this special episode of Persona Grata I talked with Yiftah Curiel who heads the Israel MFA's Digital Diplomacy department which manages more than 30 social media channels in 5 languages including English, Arabic, Farsi, Spanish, Russian and Hebrew. We discussed... Continue Reading →
In a recent publication I have argued that investigating the employment of digital technologies in diplomacy requires that one regard digitalization as a long term process. The reason for this is that new digital technologies constantly emerge bringing with them new opportunities and challenges. Moreover, digital technologies often necessitate that diplomatic institutions adopt new norms... Continue Reading →
Paweł Surowiec (University of Sheffield) and Chris Miles (Bournemouth University) During the Cold War, the categorisation between ‘high’ and ‘low’ politics, mirrored by 'high' and 'low' cultures, was distinguishable as a trend in public diplomacy. These distinctions became blurred and, in the early 2000s, a new trend emerged whereby ‘high’ politics began borrowing from 'low'... Continue Reading →
Traditionally, diplomacy rested on proximity. Ambassadors to foreign nations resided in court so that they could assess the temperament of a monarch, create alliances with noble families, gather gossip from local scoundrels and coordinate action with their peers. Proximity has remained important in the 21st century. Ambassadors to multi-lateral organizations essentially reside in a new... Continue Reading →
Recent years have seen ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) adopt a strategic approach to their digital communications. As part of this approach, MFAs create narratives, or frames, through which digital publics can make sense of events shaping their world. Scholars such as Ben O’Loughlin, Alister Miskimmon and Laura Roselle argue that narratives are powerful as... Continue Reading →
The past decade has seen the accelerated digitalization of diplomacy. While scholars, diplomats and diplomatic institutions are still searching for a definition of the term “digital diplomacy”, most agree that digital technologies have substantially affected the practice of diplomacy. Over the past four years alone, digital technologies have been employed in nearly all realms of... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 