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The majority of academic articles suggest that MFAs (ministries of foreign affairs) migrated to social media given a desire to converse and shape the opinions of online publics. However, recent studies also suggest that MFAs now use twitter to disseminate and gather information that may be of use to foreign policy makers and analysts. Indeed... Continue Reading →
Much has been written over the past year about ISIS' use of social media to recruit young Muslims to its ranks. The use of the internet, and social media, in order to recruit members to extremist groups is by no means a new occurrence. A 2008 estimate asserted that the internet was responsible for 80%... Continue Reading →
This month, public diplomacy scholar Bruce Gregory published a new article in the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled “Mapping Boundaries in Diplomacy's Public Dimension". In this article, Gregory explores the need to better define the boundaries between public diplomacy and other forms of diplomatic practice. Gregory makes an important point when asserting that “boundaries are... Continue Reading →
One of the major questions arising from the study of digital diplomacy deals with its practical application. In other words, what can we really learn from digital diplomacy? In the past, I have conducted several analyses which suggest that MFAs now routinely follow one another on twitter. As such, MFAs may be using social media... Continue Reading →
Over the past two weeks, I have published two posts dealing with Russia's digital diplomacy apparatus. While the first post focused solely on Russia's digital diplomacy reach, the second post compared between the social media reach of the US and Russia. However, both posts dealt primarily with the extent to which the US and Russia... Continue Reading →
Recent moths have seen an abundance of articles dealing with Russia's use of trolls in order to shape online public discourse regarding its foreign policy. According to one article, the Kremlin now manages a troll army used to promote Russia's stance on numerous issues (e.g., Ukraine, Syrian Civil War, Iran nuclear agreement) and discredit Russia's opponents.... Continue Reading →
Last week I published the results of an analysis that focused on ambassadors who are active on twitter in addition to their embassy. My results indicated that some ambassadors add to their embassy's digital diplomacy impact by publishing engaging content. This week I decided to return to my database in order to identify best practices for ambassadors on twitter.... Continue Reading →
Last week, Molly McCluskey published an article in the Washington diplomat dealing with Swiss digital diplomacy in Washington D.C. According to the article, the new Swiss ambassador to Washington has deiced to place a greater emphasis on the embassy's digital outreach. The article caused me to contemplate the benefits of Ambassadors tweeting on their own... Continue Reading →
On Tuesday, the White House launched a new twitter channel (@TheIranDeal) in an attempt to bolster domestic and international support for the agreement reached between the P5+1 and Iran regarding the latter's nuclear weapons program. According to Politico, this is the first time the Obama administration has launched an issue specific twitter handle. US officials... Continue Reading →
The US and LGBT rights On the 26th of June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the country's constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage thereby legalizing gay marriage across the United States. The ruling, seen as a major achievement for LGBT activist around the world, had both domestic and global implications. In recent... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 