The end of World War 2 saw the decline and ultimate abolition of most European Monarchies. By 1945, the majority of European nations had either exiled their Monarch or transitioned towards various forms of constitutional Monarchies. Yet while the remaining Monarchs may have lost their hard power resources (i.e., their status as sovereigns) they soon... Continue Reading →
The Rules of Engagement: Why MFAs Should Engage with Social Media Followers
Over the past two weeks I have published posts dealing with issues that arouse in Israel's 1st Digital Diplomacy Conference held earlier this year in Tel Aviv. This week's post offers insight into an additional issue that was debated by scholars and practitioners who attended the conference- diplomats' need to engage with social media followers.... Continue Reading →
Is Digital Diplomacy Really Domestic Diplomacy?
On the 30-31 of March of 2016, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the University of Tel Aviv co-hosted Israel's first digital diplomacy conference. Alongside representatives from 20 foreign ministries, and leading academics from the fields of communication, international relations and diplomacy, we endeavored to further investigate the term "digital diplomacy". Over the next few weeks,... Continue Reading →
How Russia Practices Digital Diplomacy- Interview with Press Attaché at Russian Embassy In London
Over the past year, much has been written about Russian digital diplomacy. While some have argued that Russia uses social media for propaganda, analysis has shown that the Russian MFA is one of the most active and dominant foreign ministries on twitter. Moreover, the Russian MFA is one of the most central ministries among the... Continue Reading →
Six Degrees of Foreign Policy Narration
There seems to a prevailing opinion among International Relations’ scholars that our world is one of perpetual crises. The moment one crisis ends, such as the threat of Ebola, another begins, such as Russian military involvement in Syria. Communication has always been an integral part of crisis management. Moreover, diplomatic crises are often defined as... Continue Reading →
Does Digital Diplomacy Blur All Boundaries?
This month, public diplomacy scholar Bruce Gregory published a new article in the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled “Mapping Boundaries in Diplomacy's Public Dimension". In this article, Gregory explores the need to better define the boundaries between public diplomacy and other forms of diplomatic practice. Gregory makes an important point when asserting that “boundaries are... Continue Reading →
Can Brand NASA Aid Brand America?
There is a popular urban legend according to which during the space race of the 1960's, NASA spent substantial resources on developing a special pen for Astronauts that could work in a zero gravity environment. Instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on a Cosmonaut's pen, the Russians simply used pencils. While this is more... Continue Reading →
Digital Diplomacy During #NepalEarthquake
Digital Diplomacy- Between Revolution and Evolution Much of the current debate regarding digital diplomacy tends to focus on the question of evolution vs. revolution. The focal question of this debate is does digital diplomacy represent a revolutionary way of conducting diplomacy or is it merely an evolution in the practice of diplomacy. While answering this question is... Continue Reading →
The New Acronym in US-Russian Relations is MAD: Mutually Assured Delegitimization
When studying the Cold War, one cannot help feeling overwhelmed by the amount of acronyms used by both the US and the USSR. From NATO and ICBMS (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) to SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) and VOA (Voice of America), acronyms seem to have played a major role in this prolonged global conflict.... Continue Reading →
Between Digital Diplomacy and Diplomacy 2.0
Note: This post was originally published on the Public Diplomat Website. Several weeks ago I was asked if there was a difference between the terms digital diplomacy and diplomacy 2.0 or if they are simply synonyms. At the time, my answer was that both terms relate, among other, to the incorporation of Social Networking Sites (SNS) in... Continue Reading →