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The advent of social media has transformed diplomats into ‘visual narrators’. By visual narrators I refer to diplomats’ growing ability to use visuals to deliver complex foreign policy messages. Indeed, over the past few years ,diplomats have learned to speak the language of visuals or what Roland Barthes called “The Rhetoric of the Image”. Barthes... Continue Reading →
Diplomats and MFAs often seek to break their “algorithmic confines''. This is because social media algorithms limit the reach of diplomats’ online content. Tweets published by an Embassy, for example, will only reach the Embassy’s followers or social media followers who have expressed some interest in diplomacy, international relations or bi lateral ties between countries.... Continue Reading →
In 2012, Philip Seib published the book “Real-Time Diplomacy”. Seib argued that digital technologies in general, and social media in particular, had expedited the practice of diplomacy. The reason for this was the acceleration in news coverage made possible thanks to the emergence of citizen journalism. Seib viewed social media as a competitive arena in... Continue Reading →
Since the onset of Russia’s War against Ukraine, social media users have authored and disseminated thousands of memes. At times, memes respond to trending news stories. Such was the case with the barrage of memes depicting Ukrainian tractors towing Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Other times memes have been used to try and galvanize international... Continue Reading →
Digital diplomacy is not a new phenomenon. Beginning in the 1990s, foreign ministries (MFAs) sought to adopt and leverage digital technologies. In some cases, this was as rudimentary as using emails as opposed to diplomatic cables or creating intranets, internal networks that enabled diplomats to share information and knowledge with peers. By the early 2000’s,... Continue Reading →
Exploring Digital Diplomacy 