One of the hallmarks of public life in the twenty-first century and especially since the rise of social media is in understanding how these developments have actively worked to change the way that not only people communicate with each other but how governments and institutions communicate with the people. The rise of social media technology has been largely concurrent with another very important change in the way that the world is organized; namely, globalization. Globalization as a process has for the most part been a force which has weakened the power of national governments, has created real constrictions on the use of sovereignty and weakened the primacy of the nation-state in the international system. Technology and more specifically social media in this case have largely served the purpose of breaking down barriers of communication and giving more voice to those that didn’t previously have one. Digital diplomacy is a method by which national governments have adapted to the current technological landscape and have seized the opportunity given by these new platforms to use them as a tool for furthering the traditional goal of the state. These goals are twofold. First, it is about creating and managing relationships. Second, it is about advancing the national interest. Digital diplomacy still works within the structures of traditional diplomacy but it is useful as an auxiliary tool in diplomacy.
Digital diplomacy’s role as a useful tool for conducting foreign policy are very promising and while it has some upsides it also has many challenges and limits associated with it The role which digital diplomacy plays today is intricately connected to the concept of statecraft. Statecraft, the actual day to day work of maintaining relationships between countries is greatly helped by social media. Social media in this context has led to structural changes in the ways that the international system, as well as societies, have changed. In this sense, digital platforms are very useful in advancing a state’s foreign policy interest by using these new methods as a way of strengthening civil society, individuals and being able to communicate with your target audience. These are largely the strengths associated with digital diplomacy and the use of social media channels as a tool for statecraft. (Carnegie Endowment)
On the other hand, digital diplomacy has become a tool in a time where the international system has been going through a transition, which has caused many challenges for international relations practitioners. The internet, in this case, is a used a surrogate for all of the issues associated with the weaknesses of the global community in dealing with the challenges of globalization. The internet by its very nature should be something that is disruptive within the structures of traditional national sovereignty because it is distributed, transnational, non-centralized and has no locus of power. The internet is a very powerful tool but it is also a very powerful tool for those whose intentions are negative. The internet like many other recent developments in foreign policy has only served to strengthen non-state actors and weaken the state. These non-state actors may be organizations like NGOs or civil society groups but they also might be terrorist groups or transnational organized crime syndicates. (Carnegie Endowment) These ambiguities which are inherent with any technological advance become even more significant when applied to the hard business of diplomacy and statecraft.
The role of social media in conducting diplomacy is far from being something which anyone has completely understood at this very moment. Practitioners of diplomacy at the US State Department have reached a conclusion that it is such a powerful tool because it is just one more tool in the toolbox for achieving their goals. Foreign policy isn’t a made in a vacuum and more and more people are becoming increasingly active in using social media as a political organizing tool. The Arab Spring, for example, showed the power which social media has as a way of mobilizing people. The State Department detailed how it used social media as a method of organizing people, to strengthen civil society, as a fundraising tool, and lastly as a simple advertising tool. (US Department of State) Furthermore, the State Department forwarded a vision of using social media and the connections it creates as a way of encouraging governments which might have more closed off institutions and greater censorship or control of information as a way of affirming the American commitment to open societies, freedom of expression and liberal values. (US Department of State) These use of social media as a method of conducting digital diplomacy might be limited but they are one more way in which the US government can achieve its goals.
The largest weaknesses of digital diplomacy is a mirror to its greatest utility, it’s lack of privacy and the risk involved with government functionaries having to be “on message” no matter the platform. Digital diplomacy might have a role and it is useful because it strengthens elements which might be helpful in achieving a state’s foreign policy goals. In the long run, though, it cannot replace the traditional role of diplomacy as a series of private meetings between two governments. Although digital diplomacy doesn’t aim to replace traditional diplomacy its simple presence can sometimes work to distract from the larger goal of statecraft which is the trading of influence and power. These limitations are something which cannot be overlooked and they constrain the utility of digital diplomacy as a tool for making foreign policy.
Technology is something which is undeniably here for to stay. It is what makes the twenty-first unique and will shape the way that people and governments interact for the foreseeable future. Digital diplomacy is just but one facet of this new technological movement but it is easy to see that although it has some real strengths; but the structural weaknesses of the international system and its limitations create very hard barriers for the utility of it as a tool of doing something more than just encouraging relationships between governments and civil society groups and empowering citizens through organizing
Works Cited
Carnegie Endowment. "Digital Diplomacy: A New Era of Advancing Policy." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 31 May 2016.
US Department of State. "Foreign Press Center Briefing on "Digital Diplomacy: Making Foreign Policy Less Foreign"" YouTube. YouTube, 2014. Web. 31 May 2016.
