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The past two years have seen the growing use of humor and satire in digital diplomacy. Memes, GIFs, pop references and BLOCK CAPITALS have become another instrument in the diplomatic toolkit. One of the earliest successful uses of humor in digital diplomacy occurred during the Crimea Crisis of 2014 when the Canadian Mission to NATO... Continue Reading →
The word narrative has for some time dominated conversations about digital diplomacy. At the most basic level, narratives are viewed as compelling stories through which state and non-state actors can explain their policies and actions. The narrative is thus a rhetorical and visual device that replaces official press statements lined with diplomatic double entendres and... Continue Reading →
The Crimean Crisis has been regarded as a turning point in the relationship between Western Europe and Russia. The Crisis, which burst onto the scene in December of 2013, saw strongly worded tweets followed by troop convoys, financial sanctions and the expulsion of diplomats. In the wake of the Crisis, governments in Western Europe came... 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 →
James Pamment has written that for most of the 20th century the term public diplomacy was associated with the term propaganda. According to the Oxford Dictionary propaganda relates to information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. During the 21st century, the field of public... Continue Reading →
Introduction March 4th saw a nerve agent attack in London that left two people dead. According to the British government, this attack was perpetrated by Russia and constitutes the first nerve agent attack since the end of World War 2. In the hours and days following the attack, the UK government demanded that Russia offer... Continue Reading →
American poet Allen Ginsburg opens his masterpiece, Howl, with the lines I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of... Continue Reading →
2017 marks a decade since the advent of “digital diplomacy”. What began as an experiment by a select number of foreign ministries has transformed into routine practice for diplomats and embassies the world over. To mark this occasion, I will be publishing a series of working papers. The goal of this series is to reflect... Continue Reading →
Introduction- Narratives, Narratives, Narratives Several weeks ago I began watching a TV show depicting the lives of vampires in New York City. One of the greatest challenge facing these vampires is their lack of ability to gain acceptance from the human population. As the vampire leader summarized, “we lack a compelling narrative”. This week I... Continue Reading →
Since its emergence nearly a decade ago, digital diplomacy has been accompanied by a need to justify its costs. This is due to the fact that senior diplomats and policy makers often regarded digital diplomacy as a fad rather than a strategic tool for achieving foreign policy goals. This negative view of digital tools led... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 