Digital diplomacy

Digital diplomacy
Katarzyna Rybka-Iwańska
Course on Public Diplomacy 2017

Number of
players
Structure Form Transparency Main
purpose
Club Few Hierarchy Mostly written Low Sign
agreements
Network Many Flatter Mostly oral High Increase
flows
Club vs. network diplomacy
Source: Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, p. 23.

Public diplomacy today
Public diplomacy
strategies
Hierarchical Integrative
Aims Shaping images of the
„sender”
Influencing policy agendas
by shaping policy
attitudes in international
environments
Methods Unidirectional information
flows
Developing dialogues with
stakeholders
Developing collaborative
policy networks
Jan Melissen
The empowerment of the public
Polylateral diplomacy = state to non-state diplomacy = gov’s
diplomatic cooperation with transnational civil society actors

Effectiveness – MFAs can better connect and communicate with
new players in international society
Efficiency – MFAs can reach much larger audiences and capture a
range of related benefits
Leverage – MFAs can use the new media to play to the strenghts of
national image and reputation while minimising the constraints
associated with capacity or security limitations.
Benefits for MFAs from going digital
Daryl Copeland

Public diplomacy, advocacy, dialogue
Strategic communications, branding, PR campaigns
Collaborative intelligence, innovation, problem-solving
Trade and investment promotion
Contact development, relationship building, network
formation/maintenance
Outreach and constituency-building
Travel advice and consular information
Represenattion in digital worlds
Examples of outward focused MFA
digital activities
Daryl Copeland

Knowledge access, generatoin, accumulation
Development of ideas, analysis, projects
International policy formulation
Information sharing and internal publishing
Telework, distance learning, language training and simulations
Employee in-reach and internal communications
Channels for reform, dissent, criticism
Institutional memory
Examples of inward focused MFA
digital activities
Daryl Copeland

Governments are forced to be more honest, consistent,
transparent
International content in journalism is covered better and more
broadly
A lot more stuff to study be diplomacy and IR students
Information can be better protected (if IT specialists deliver)
The brand of diplomacy may improve
Positive effects of going digital
Daryl Copeland

Dangerous situations unfold (casualties)
Tradecraft suffers (through underminded trust, confidence and
respect)
Secrecy rebounded
The craft of diplomacy and the quality of public administration
and governance are likely to suffer
Negative effects of going digital
Daryl Copeland

Poor communication and incompetent staff meant the World Health
Organization failed to react swiftly Ebola outbreak in Africa, reports
say.
An internal document said those involved "failed to see some fairly
plain writing on the wall", according to the Associated Press.
Among the problems cited in the information obtained by AP and
Bloomberg are:
A failure of WHO experts in the field to send reports to WHO headquarters
in Geneva
Bureaucratic hurdles preventing $500,000 reaching the response effort in
Guinea
Doctors unable to gain access because visas had not been obtained
The importance of public trust
The problem of appropriate response
The hybrid nature of the policy environment
WHO and the Ebola crisis
Source: Brian Hocking, Jan Melissen;
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29668603

Or: cyber diplomacy, net diplomacy, e-diplomacy
New methods and modes of conducting diplomacy with the help
of the Internet and ICTs (information and communication
technologies) – not only social media!
Describes their impact on contemporary diplomatic practices and
foreign policies
What is different: the environment in which diplomacy is
conducted, the topics on diplomatic agendas, the tools in the
practice of diplomacy
A new set of skills, organisational changes and innovative ways
of approaching global policy are needed
Digital diplomacy defined
Source: https://www.diplomacy.edu/e-
diplomacy

5 core e-skills for diplomats
Source: https://www.diplomacy.edu/e-
diplomacy

MFAs on social media platforms
(2016)
Source:
https://www.diplomacy.edu/sit
es/default/files/E-
diplomacy%20infographic%20
-
%20DiploFoundation%202016
.pdf

The power of Twitter – Barack Obama
Source: https://twitter.com/BarackObama

The power of Twitter - @POTUS44
Source: https://twitter.com/POTUS44

Donald Trump on Twitter
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-
global/twitter-diplomacy-how-tru_b_14441536.html

Swedish digital diplomacy
Source: Twitter,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/09/swedish-
foreign-minister-margot-wallstrom-saudi-arabia-blocked-speech-
human-rights

Swedish digital diplomacy
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/13/swedens-
feminist-government-criticized-for-wearing-headscarves-in-
iran/?utm_term=.3d3ad6e93c25
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/03/some-people-
seem-to-think-this-picture-of-swedens-deputy-leader-is-trolling-
trump/?utm_term=.e48eb275bf33

Who got access in 2010:
• The Guardian
• Der Spiegel
• The New York Times
• El Pais
• Al-Akhbar (Lebanon)
• Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet (Sweden)
• Aftenposten (Norway)
• Politiken (Denmark)
• NRC (Dutch Newspaper) and RTL Nieuws (Dutch TV)
• Die Welt
• Fairfax Media (Australia)
• Russky Reporter
• Razoner de Cuba (the Cuban gov-run website)
• La Nacion (Costa Rica)
• El Universo (Ecuador)
Challenges – Wikileas/Cablegate

Saudi sponsorship of Al-Qaida
Saudi pressure on the US to bomb Iran
„teflon” Angela Merkel
US and British diplomats eavesdropped Kofi Annan before the Iraq
invasion
H. Clinton orders collecting biometric data of UN officials
Putin and Medvedev as Batman and Robin
Slovenians were told: if you want to speak with Obama, take some
Guantanamo prisoners first
Italians were paying talibs money so that they had peace in the
province they stationed in
Challenges – Wikileaks/Cablegate

Clinton used personal email addresses connected to a privately-
owned server, rather than a government email, during her four years
as President Barack Obama's first-term secretary of state.
Clinton's lawyers turned over 55,000 pages of emails to the State
Department, and the department has since processed those --
releasing some, under a judge's orders, at the end of each month.
But she didn't hand in the server itself until Sept 2016, after five
months of intense scrutiny over whether she flouted transparency
laws or put government secrets at risk.
Of the 7,000 emails released by the State Department this week, 125
were retroactively classified.
Clinton has chalked it all up to convenience, saying she preferred not
to carry two phones -- one with a personal email address and one
with a work email.
Hillary Clinton email scandal
Source:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/03/politics/hillary-
clinton-email-controversy-explained-2016/

„Epic fails”
On the 200th anniversary of the Brits’
burning of the White House,
diplomats at the UK’s Embassy to
the USA tweeted a photo that left
many speechless.
How it could’ve been avoided: Like
many of the other examples on this
list, this particular fail could have
been avoided by simply exercising
some basic judgement, or asking
a couple “locally-engaged staff”
(i.e. American employees at the
Embassy) for their opinion prior to
posting.
Source: http://www.thepanelonline.com/thepanel-
blog/top-10-digital-diplomacy-fails

„Epic fails”
In a well-intentioned attempt at digital diplomacy, Cameron Tweeted a photo of himself
stoically holding up a phone, captioned “I've been speaking to @BarackObama about the
situation in Ukraine. We are united in condemnation of Russia's actions.” Almost
immediately after, the photo was being mercilessly mocked on Twitter.
How it could’ve been avoided: The photo ended up looking forced and farcical. Cameron’s
photographer should have done a better job at putting Cameron at-ease, or better yet,
captured a fully-candid shot.

„Epic fails” During the USA vs. Ghana match of the
2014 FIFA World Cup, Delta Airlines
Tweeted a photo of a giraffe’s silhouette
to signify Ghana (a photo of the Statue of
Liberty was used to represent the USA).
The problem? Well, there are no giraffes
in Ghana. Critics noted that Delta’s Tweet
is part of a larger issue concerning
Africa’s depiction as a homogenous,
“exotic” place – indeed, many in
Western nations are unaware of the
true scale and diversity of the continent.
How it could’ve been avoided: Delta
should have Googled “national symbols
of Ghana” or “famous places in Ghana”,
then cross-checked their information
with trusted local source.

„Epic fails”
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
2521933/David-Cameron-defends-
Mandela-memorial-service-selfie.html
How this could’ve been
avoided? Just do not take
selfies on funerals.

Examples of Top „Twitteratti” 2016
Source: http://twiplomacy.com/blog/the-
twiplomacy-top-twenty-twitterati-2016/

Adopt a step-by-step approach
Define your target audience
Do not expect to control everything
Allocate sufficient resources for the campaign
Start with monitoring online commentary – and keep this as a priority
throughout the campign
Create engaging content
Disclose your identity and be sincere
Attract users to your site
Monitor your campaign in real time and react to all relevant content
(especially negative)
So how should we use social media in
public diplomacy?
ASEF Public Diplomacy
Handbook

To go or not to go online?
What can diplomats gain online, what can they lose? Where do
you see diplomatic opportunities, challenges and threats in the
digital world?
Which social media platforms should suit diplomats best?
What should diplomats be most concerned about when going
online?
What’s next?
Questions

Hocking Brian, Melisse Jan, Diplomacy in the Deigital Age, Clingendael –
Netherlands Institute of International Relations, July 2015,
https://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Digital_Diplomacy_in_the_Digital%2
0Age_Clingendael_July2015.pdf
Copeland Daryl, Digital Technology, in: Cooper Andrew F., Heine Jorge, Thakur
Ramesh (red.), The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, Oxford University Press
2013, pp. 453-472.
ASEF Public Diplomacy Handbook. How to win hearts and minds?, Asia-Europe
Foundation 2016 (accessible online).
Literature

Thank you very much for your
attention!
Let’s stay in touch:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyn
a-rybka-iwa%C5%84ska-08856b133/

Digital diplomacy

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