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Throughout the 20th century, numerous intellectual have sought to come to grips with the existence of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. According to author Primo Levy, Auschwitz was its own universe. The laws that govern our universe, those of physics and mathematics, were suspended in Auschwitz. It was a place with its own language, moral codes,... Continue Reading →
The digitalization of diplomacy has been closely associated with the practice of public diplomacy. Indeed, early adopters sought to leverage digital tools such as social media, blog sites and virtual worlds to foster ties with foreign populations. Public diplomacy underscored the digitalization of the US State Department that sought to engage with critical Muslim audiences... Continue Reading →
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- GCHQ to use AI to tackle child sex abuse, disinformation and trafficking (GCHQ)Daniel Kahneman: ‘Clearly AI is going to win. How people are going to adjust is a fascinating problem' (The... Continue Reading →
During the 2021 International Studies Association conference (ISA), I had the opportunity to partake in a roundtable Chaired by Nick Cull and Nancy Snow. The two have just recently finished editing the 2020 Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy. Authors who contributed to the handbook, including myself, were asked to reflect on how Covid19 has influenced... Continue Reading →
NOTE: On March 30, 2021 the International Communication Section of ISA, and the ICA's Public Diplomacy Interest Group held a joint debate on the merits of the term Soft Power. I was asked to argue against the proposition. Below are my comments, which should be regarded as both an assessment of the term Soft Power,... Continue Reading →
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 →
This blog post is an excerpt from a recent special issue of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy dealing with the future of public diplomacy. For the full article click here Corneliu Bjola, Jennifer Cassidy and Ilan Manor The scope, volume and intensity of global data connectivity are expected to explode in the coming years. The... 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 →
When evaluating the digitalization of public diplomacy, one can segment this process into two stages. The first stage lasted from circa 2007 to 2014. It was during this stage that diplomats and diplomatic institutions began to experiment with digital technologies. In 2007 the Swedish Institute launched one of the world’s first virtual embassies. In 2011... Continue Reading →
