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The speed of diplomacy’s digitalization has been truly remarkable. In less than a decade, MFAs (foreign ministries) have gone from launching websites and virtual embassies to designing smartphone applications, analyzing big data sets, writing code, creating algorithms and establishing social media empires that span multiple networks. This is all the more remarkable as MFAs were... Continue Reading →
Now is the age of conspiracies. Throughout the world, the mass dissemination and belief in conspiracy theories seems to be on the rise. These were especially visible during the 2016 Presidential elections as some argued that climate change was a Chinese invention meant to weaken the West, that Barack Obama was not born in the... Continue Reading →
In December of 2014, I conducted a series of interviews with Geneva based Ambassadors hoping to understand how smartphones had influenced the conduct of diplomacy. Through these interviews I learned that Ambassadors were increasingly using the messaging application WhatsApp to communicate with their peers. Such communication influenced diplomacy in three ways. First, the Ambassadors stated... Continue Reading →
Two weeks ago I published an analysis of the images of Syria used by the British FCO on Twitter. My analysis found that the FCO employs images that resonate with iconic moments from British history. In addition, I found that these images are an integral part of the British narrative of events in Syria. This... Continue Reading →
On Friday, December 2nd, the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group, and the Latvian Mission to Geneva, co-hosted a Digital Diplomacy event at the UN headquarters in Geneva. The purpose of the event was to examine whether there is a Return On Investment in digital diplomacy activities. The event demonstrated that the first stage of digital... Continue Reading →
Several weeks before the 2016 US elections, I analysed the extent to which Presidential candidates attract digital diplomacy followers. To do, I evaluated the number of Twitter followers Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attracted from five epistemic communities: MFAs, UN missions in NY and Geneva, Multi-Lateral organizations and foreign affairs journalists. My results showed that... Continue Reading →
The yearly session of the UN General Assembly may be regarded as the pinnacle of the diplomatic calendar year. Within the space of a few days, global leaders are all offered the opportunity to address the General Assembly and, through global news channels, the world. Additionally, the General Assembly is often the sight of intensive... Continue Reading →
Throughout my exploration of digital diplomacy, I have found time and again that smaller nations can use social media in order to leverage their diplomatic standing. I refer to this phenomenon as social media mobility. This week I was interested in examining if Palestine is using social media to increase its visibility, promote its foreign... Continue Reading →
The Catholic Church is no stranger to diplomacy. Indeed since its formation the Church has been at the forefront of diplomatic activity, firs in Europe and then around the world. Popes often served as arbiters in European conflicts while Papal legates served as ambassadors to foreign courts. Even the first foreign ministry was founded by... Continue Reading →
In recent years, several international relations scholars have called on nations to adopt a network model of diplomacy. The term Network Diplomacy often refers to nations' need to create temporary coalitions in order to achieve their foreign policy goals. Such coalitions may be viewed as networks with each member of the coalition serving as a... Continue Reading →
