17-07-24 Slide Share Digital diplomacy

Digital diplomacyKatarzyna Rybka-Iwańska

Course on Public Diplomacy 2017

Number of players

Structure Form Transparency Mainpurpose

Club Few Hierarchy Mostly written Low Signagreements

Network Many Flatter Mostly oral High Increaseflows

Club vs. network diplomacy

Katarzyna Rybka-Iwańska

Source: Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, p. 23.

Public diplomacy today

Public diplomacystrategies

Hierarchical Integrative

Aims Shaping images of the „sender”

Influencing policy agendasby shaping policy attitudes in internationalenvironments

Methods Unidirectional informationflows

Developing dialogues with stakeholdersDeveloping collaborativepolicy 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/sites/default/files/E-diplomacy%20infographic%20-%20DiploFoundation%202016.pdf

MFAs on social media platforms

(2016)


Source: https://www.diplomacy.edu/sites/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 Iraqinvasion

� 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 someGuantanamo 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/



The power of hashtag?

The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag

miraculously managed to become a

divisive one, despite its goal

of uniting users around the demand

for the safe return of Nigerian

school girls kidnapped by a militant

Islamist group. Although critics were

quick to point out the "laziness" of

this use of hashtag activism, some of

the 6,100,000 users of

#BringBackOurGirls defended the

trending topic, offering their own

criticism of those who shame others

for not meeting their standards of

awareness. BUT… has anything

tangible happended thanks to the

hashtag?

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-

switch/wp/2016/03/21/these-are-the-10-most-influential-

hashtags-in-honor-of-twitters-

birthday/?utm_term=.4861f0ddea59

� #Rio2016

� #Elections2016

� #PokemonGo

� #Euro2016

� #Oscars

� #Brexit

� #BlackLivesMatter

� #Trump – the only person on

the list

� #RIP

� #GameofThrones


Top Twitter Hashtags of 2016

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/06/technology/twitter-

top-events-hashtags-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.Source: http://www.thepanelonline.com/thepanel-



„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.

Source: http://www.thepanelonline.com/thepanel-



„Epic fails”

Source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-

2521933/David-Cameron-defends-

Mandela-memorial-service-selfie.html

How this could’ve beenavoided? Just do not takeselfies 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 prioritythroughout 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 DiplomacyHandbook


� 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/


Documents

17-07-24 Slide Share Digital diplomacy