www.digdipblog.com
Acknowledgement: This blog post is part of a paper that I presented at a recent workshop on humor and global politics at the University of Sheffield. I am thankful to all participants and to the organizer, Dr. Dmitry Chernobrov. Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukraine has used social media to rally online and... Continue Reading →
This week I have published a new working paper examining Russia's practice of 'Selfie Diplomacy' during 2020-2021. The Working paper begins by discussing why nostalgia is such a common sentiment in todays' world, arguing that nostalgia is an attempt to force logic onto an incoherent world. Next, the working paper examines the Selfie and asserts... Continue Reading →
The Russia-Ukraine war has witnessed the emergence of new social media practices. The Ukrainian government, for one, has been using social media to crowdfund its armed forces and create an IT army charged with cyber-attacks against Russia. Yet the war has also seen the growing use of memes. Ukrainian diplomats and government ministries have published... Continue Reading →
Since the onset of Russia’s War against Ukraine, social media users have authored and disseminated thousands of memes. At times, memes respond to trending news stories. Such was the case with the barrage of memes depicting Ukrainian tractors towing Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Other times memes have been used to try and galvanize international... Continue Reading →
Digital diplomacy is not a new phenomenon. Beginning in the 1990s, foreign ministries (MFAs) sought to adopt and leverage digital technologies. In some cases, this was as rudimentary as using emails as opposed to diplomatic cables or creating intranets, internal networks that enabled diplomats to share information and knowledge with peers. By the early 2000’s,... Continue Reading →
Yesterday I set out to understand the current state of affairs in Ukraine. The day began, as always, with a barrage of memes mocking a meeting between Russian President Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The news was not all bad. Though the two gentlemen seemed distanced, Lavrov emphasized that there may still be... Continue Reading →
Traditionally, diplomats and world leaders have turned to communication channels in order to frame crises. Specifically, leaders and diplomats aim to identify the cause of a crisis, or the underlying problem that has precipitated a crisis between states. For instance, following the 9/11 terror attacks, President Bush announced that terror groups had declared war on... Continue Reading →
Philosophers and political theorists have argued that the goal of every society is complete control. This is also true of democratic societies and herein lies the tension of every democracy. That a government is elected by people to manage its affairs. Yet soon that very government strives to control its citizenry. Free people thus freely... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 