Diplomacy hinges on credibility. As Ben Mor aptly notes, “being perceived as honest and reliable is a necessary condition for obtaining and holding the attention of target audiences, as well as for effective persuasion.” States that are perceived as duplicitous or deceptive struggle to engage with global publics, let alone persuade them to accept their... Continue Reading →
A China-First Approach to Digital Policy Making
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 →
The AI Moves In: ChatGPT’s Impact on Digital Diplomacy
In 1982, Time Magazine’s cover depicted a man sitting opposite a computer screen. The headline read “The Computer Moves In”. Time’s cover captured a pivotal civilizational moment, as the introduction of the personal computer would lead to the creation of a new society- a digital society complete with its own logics, norms, values and laws... Continue Reading →
Recording: At a Crossroads- Examining Covid-19’s Impact on Public & Digital Diplomacy
On February 25, 2022, the Department of Communications at Ben Gurion University of the Negev and ICA’s Public Diplomacy Interest Group co-hosted a panel on how Covid19 impacted public diplomacy. The Covid-19 pandemic is a unique global crisis that has significantly changed social, cultural, and political behaviours. For one, the world is no longer as... Continue Reading →
Monday’s #MustRead 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- Facebook spent more on lobbying than any other Big Tech company in 2020 (CNBC)Google threatens to withdraw search engine from Australia (BBC News)UK must resist the itch to meddle with the... Continue Reading →
Monday’s #MustRead 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- For Facebook, It’s All About the Bottom Line (Foreign Policy)Parler is gone for now as Amazon terminates hosting (The Verge)Trump Is Banned. Who Is Next? (The Atlantic)Can Regulation Douse Populism’s Online... Continue Reading →
What Can Cultural Theory Tell Us About Trump’s Populist Public Diplomacy the Digital Age?
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 →