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Scholars have long since asserted that nations have images. Although scholars differ on what these images consist of, and whether these images can be managed, they nonetheless agree that like consumer brands, nations elicit cognitive associations in people's minds. Upon hearing the name “Germany”, for example, certain associations may spring to people’s minds be it... Continue Reading →
In recent years diplomats have increasingly employed pop culture in their digital communications. Some nations, for instance, celebrate Star Wars Day on May the 4th tweeting at their followers. Others employ pop culture memes when attempting to shape global public opinion. Countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Israel and the UK have all relied in popular... Continue Reading →
Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is considered the cornerstone of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg famously argued that quantum particles are subject to unpredictable fluctuations, making them impossible to track precisely. The position and momentum of an electron, for example, are subject to unpredictable fluctuations and as such cannot be measured exactly. Even more complex is the understating... Continue Reading →
On May 8th, the world celebrated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It was, for many, a solemn day. The end of World War II was meant to usher in a new dawn of stability and harmony amongst the nations of the world. The struggle to defeat Nazi Germany symbolized victory... Continue Reading →
The past week saw the launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese Generative AI tool. The launch of a Chinse rival to American AIs such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude caught the world by surprise and sent global markets into a tailspin. Tech stocks, and chip stocks in particular, plummeted with Invidia losing $600 Billion in a... Continue Reading →
For nearly a decade, the term digital diplomacy has been closely associated with social media. In many MFAs, digital diplomacy units are actually tasked with managing social media empires that span hundreds of accounts across numerous platforms. Although social media has remained central to the practice of digital diplomacy, its use has changed over the... 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- Germany blames China for ‘serious’ cyber attack (The Financial Times) OpenAI’s Sam Altman is becoming one of the most powerful people on Earth. We should be very afraid (The Guardian) TikTok... Continue Reading →
The 'middle-ground' is as important to diplomacy as it is to society. It is in the middle-ground where diplomats can meet and resolve differences. It is in the middle-ground where different citizens, with different opinions, can meet to discuss issues of shared concern. It is therefore in the middle-ground where action may be initiated. In... Continue Reading →
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 →
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- How Big Tech Is Killing Innovation (The New York Times) Why does AI hallucinate? (MIT Technology Review) Does what happens on your iPhone still stay on your iPhone? (The Guardian) China... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 