The practice of digital diplomacy has altered considerably since its inception in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Early digital diplomacy initiatives focused on using virtual platforms to overcome the limitations of traditional diplomacy. For instance, in 2008 Sweden launched the world’s first virtual Embassy in the online world of Second Life. This Embassy... Continue Reading →
2019- The Year in Which Digital Diplomacy Research Came of Age
When asked what is the enlightenment, Kant answered “Enlightened is man’s ascension from his self-imposed immaturity”. When reviewing the study of digital diplomacy, 2019 is the year of maturity. In 2015, scholars mainly asked who? Who manages the digital accounts of MFAs/embassies and multi-lateral missions? This was an important question. If digital diplomacy managers were... Continue Reading →
Are Local Employees the Unsung Heroes of Digital Diplomacy?
The past decade has seen the accelerated digitalization of diplomacy. While scholars, diplomats and diplomatic institutions are still searching for a definition of the term “digital diplomacy”, most agree that digital technologies have substantially affected the practice of diplomacy. Over the past four years alone, digital technologies have been employed in nearly all realms of... Continue Reading →
What Ediplomacy can Learn from Ehealth: The Importance of Tailoring Foreign Policy Messages
On Governments and Cyberspace In 1996 John Perry Barlow published the Deceleration of Independence of Cyberspace. In his manifesto, Barlow envisioned cyberspace as a world that is detached from the physical one, a world that would offer its inhabitants a new marketplace of ideas and free speech far from the tyranny of government. For in Barlow's... Continue Reading →