Discovering Digital Diplomacy: The Case of Mediatization in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (original) (raw)
Related papers
Introduction: The Digitalization of Public Diplomacy Towards a New Conceptual Framework.pdf
Recent years have seen the digital disruption of diplomacy. The global proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mass adoption of social media networks created a new set of opportunities and challenges that diplomacy had to grapple with. Alongside the ability to manage consular crises in near real time and shape a nation’s image, diplomats had to contend with calls for more open and transparent forms of diplomacy as well as develop a digitally literate diplomatic corps . The disruptive nature of digitalization has also been evident in the realm of public diplomacy. Digitalization has enabled diplomats to interact with foreign populations, establish global virtual embassies and overcome traditional gatekeepers such as the news room elite. Yet digitalization has also seen the rise of an opinionated online public that is clamouring to be heard as well as the transformation of social media into competitive framing arenas in which multiple actors vie over public attention and support. More recently, digitalization has become a tool for strategic use of dis-information and mis-information. It is amid this backdrop of digital disruption that this issue of the Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior (RMPE) aims to offer a more comprehensive understating of the current state of public diplomacy.
The Digitalization of Public Diplomacy: Towards a new Conceptual Framework
Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior, 2018
“The digitalization of diplomacy” looks at the overall influence digital tools are having on the practice of public diplomacy. This framework therefore encapsulates four dimensions. The first is a functional dimension that focuses on the use of digital tools in public diplomacy activities. The second is a normative dimension that explores how the values and norms of the digital society impact the practice of public diplomacy and the functions of its practitioners. The third dimension is analytical and relates to the use of digital technologies to evaluate public diplomacy activities. The fourth and final dimension is institutional and explores how digital tools are influencing the working procedures of institutions responsible for public diplomacy activities.
ICT revolution in the second half of the 20 th century transformed the way we communicate and transfer information. As a result ICT were incorporated into governance and notion of egovernance emerged. Digital diplomacy emerged as a continuum of the ICT revolution in the conduct of diplomacy. With the popularisation of new media, social networks, smartphones and other latest internet-based tools, diplomacy moved into a new domain of digital affairs. Thus digital diplomacy is simply defined as use of new ICT tools in order to achieve diplomatic goals.
DIGITAL SIEGE, 2021
The process of globalization has led to important paradigm shifts in the understanding of classic diplomacy. In addition to the established diplomacy of the elite, these shifts have created a new sense of diplomacy based on the understanding of civil society, which inherently aim towards social persuasiveness and are of a civilian nature. With this new sense of diplomacy, the private sector, business people, academicians, think tanks, members of the media, etc., have also participated in this process, leading to a wave of diplomacy which has acquired a more civil and democratic character. Undoubtedly, these changes have also led to other important changes in the language, style, and management of diplomacy. Developments in information technologies and the construction of a digital world have wasted no time in becoming reflected in diplomacy; diplomatic missions have begun to change in terms of structure and operation, and steps have begun to be taken in accordance with the requirements of the digital world rather than through classical methods. These new forms of relationships and communication channels, which have resulted from developments in communication, informatics, and information technologies, have helped diplomatic processes move quickly towards the use of virtual media. What is now prominent are concepts such as network diplomacy, e-diplomacy and social media diplomacy, and this has resulted in the era of digital diplomacy. This article focuses on the parameters of the digital changes and evolution in the field diplomacy, as well as the effects of these changes on the state, society, and individuals. As a case study, the article focuses on the digitalization of diplomatic activities in Turkey and the role of digital media in the ability of Turkey to adequately express itself is discussed.
2017
2017 marks a decade since the advent of “digital diplomacy”. What began as an experiment by a select number of foreign ministries, has now become standard practice for diplomatic institutions the world over. The past decade has also witnessed increased academic interest in “digital diplomacy” with scholars evaluating the digital practices of embassies, diplomats and MFAs. To date, scholars and practitioners have a proposed a plethora of terms to conceptualize the growing influence of digital technologies on diplomacy. These have included net diplomacy, public diplomacy 2.0, networked diplomacy and real-time diplomacy. Numerus scholars have also adopted the term “digital diplomacy”. However, these have yet to offer a clear definition of this term. This working paper argues that what follows is a state of fractured terminology in which some terms are too broad, such as “digital diplomacy”, while others are too narrow, such as “public diplomacy 2.0”. Moreover, this paper argues that none of the terms employed thus far fully characterize the impact digital technologies have had on diplomacy. Therefore, this paper puts forth a new term, “the digitalization of diplomacy”, which regards digitalization as a long term process that influences four domains: the audiences of diplomacy, the institutions of diplomacy, the practitioners of diplomacy and the practice of diplomacy. This term also distinguishes between normative influences and behavioural, procedural and conceptual influences. The paper ends by demonstrating how this new term can aid scholars map the existing digital research corpus and identify new avenues of research. Thus, the “digitalization of diplomacy” can help bring order to a somewhat chaotic research field. Keywords: Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy, Digitalization, Public Diplomacy, Narratives
Practice Approaches to the Digital Transformations of Diplomacy: Toward a New Research Agenda
International Studies Review
As a growing number of diplomatic practices take new digital forms, research on digital diplomacy is rapidly expanding. Many of the changes linked to digitalization transform or challenge traditional ways of doing diplomacy. Analyses of new forms of “digital diplomacy” are therefore valuable for the advancement of practice approaches in international relations theory. That said, digital diplomacy poses a number of challenges for international relations scholarship that are only beginning to be addressed. Digitalization is both a process and a result, and provokes key questions regarding continuity, change, agency, space, and materiality in diplomacy. The overarching aim of this article is to advance a research agenda that seeks to address key questions in the study of digital diplomacy on the basis of various practice approaches. In particular, the article highlights three dimensions of change as being central to the research agenda and investigates how these can be explored in futu...
Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age
Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 2019
As data fast become the 'new oil' , the opportunities for public diplomacy to grow as a field of practice are real and game-changing. Drawing on social informatics research, this article seeks to advance our understanding of how digital technologies shape the context in which public diplomacy operates by reshaping the medium of public communication , blurring the boundary between foreign and domestic affairs and empowering new actors. Despite inevitable challenges, the future of public diplomacy in the digital age remains bright, as digital technologies create tremendous opportunities for public diplomacy to build stronger, more diverse and more enduring bridges between offline and online communities.
International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research
Internet emergence multiplied the number of voices involved in international policy-making, accelerated the spread of information and increased its sources, and offered a framework from real-time communication, so diplomats have to handle with a complex international agenda. To stay competitive, they have to assimilate digital tools in their daily practice, digital diplomacy defining changes in structures, resources requirements, organizational management and processes of MFAs. This is a central point of this paper that is focused on the impact of digital disruption on traditional diplomatic practices. Based on digital diplomacy perspectives the article argues that, even if traditional diplomatic customs remain at the heart of diplomatic activities, internet introduces a new dynamism in conducting diplomacy. A key change refers to embassies empowerment, their role inside diplomatic systems increasing while the centrality of MFA is challenged by the changing operating environment. The article emphasizes that some activities conducted today in headquarters will be assigned more and more to the embassies, ICT using optimizing the resources and the structure of the diplomatic network. The case study regarding digitization impact on Belgian and Romanian MFAs, showed that ICT transformed the manner of sharing information and of attracting foreign audiences having huge penetration potential, data being transmitted quickly to millions targeted people. In this context, diplomats' professionalization is an obvious and welcomed approach, each MFA having particular methods to develop digital competences. Therefore, the integration of digital tools in the diplomatic work and their optimal use represent the prerequisites for efficiency in the 21 st century.
Digital Diplomacy and Its Effect on International Relations
Digital technology has undoubtedly shaped the way in which the modern world works, going so far as to create a new form of diplomacy known as digital diplomacy. This paper seeks to explore the evolving nature of digital diplomacy and determine its effect on international relations. Four in-person interviews and 20 academic sources were used in order to assess the advantages and challenges that digital diplomacy presents. Acknowledging the way in which diplomats have been able to utilize social media to further the interests of their nations, this paper argues that digital diplomacy is a positive tool that can be used by governments in modern day statecraft. However, traditional methods of diplomacy still remain relevant.