Digital Diplomacy: Theory and Practice / Edition 1

by Corneliu Bjola, Marcus Holmes

Overview

This book analyses digital diplomacy as a form of change management in international politics.

The recent spread of digital initiatives in foreign ministries is often argued to be nothing less than a revolution in the practice of diplomacy. In some respects this revolution is long overdue. Digital technology has changed the ways firms conduct business, individuals conduct social relations, and states conduct governance internally, but states are only just realizing its potential to change the ways all aspects of interstate interactions are conducted. In particular, the adoption of digital diplomacy (i.e., the use of social media for diplomatic purposes) has been implicated in changing practices of how diplomats engage in information management, public diplomacy, strategy planning, international negotiations or even crisis management. Despite these significant changes and the promise that digital diplomacy offers, little is known, from an analytical perspective, about how digital diplomacy works.

This volume, the first of its kind, brings together established scholars and experienced policy-makers to bridge this analytical gap. The objective of the book is to theorize what digital diplomacy is, assess its relationship to traditional forms of diplomacy, examine the latent power dynamics inherent in digital diplomacy, and assess the conditions under which digital diplomacy informs, regulates, or constrains foreign policy. Organized around a common theme of investigating digital diplomacy as a form of change management in the international system, it combines diverse theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented chapters centered on international change.

This book will be of much interest to students of diplomatic studies, public diplomacy, foreign policy, social media and international relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138843820
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/19/2015
Series:	Routledge New Diplomacy Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Corneliu Bjola is Associate Professor in Diplomatic Studies, University of Oxford, and author or editor of three previous books, including Understanding International Diplomacy (with M. Kornprobst, Routledge 2013).

Marcus Holmes is Assistant Professor of Government, College of William & Mary, USA.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: Making Sense of Digital Diplomacy. I:DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: THE POLICY DIMENSION 1. Digital Diplomacy and International Change Management 2. Digital Diplomacy: Between Promises and Reality.3.‘Secrecy is for Losers’: Why Diplomats Should Embrace Openness to Protect National Security. 4. Social Media and Public Diplomacy: A Comparative Analysis of the digital diplomatic strategies of the EU, U.S. and Japan in China. 5. America's Selfie: How the U.S. portrays itself on its digital diplomacy channels. II: DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: THE INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSION 6. Business as Usual? An Evaluation of British and Canadian Digital Diplomacy as Institutional Adaptation, 7. Evolution not revolution: The ‘digital divide’ in the American and Australian contexts.8. The International Criminal Court: Using Technology in Network Diplomacy. 9. When Doing Becomes the Message: The Case of Swedish Digital Diplomacy.10. The Power of Diplomacy: New Meanings, and the Methods for Understanding Digital Diplomacy. CONCLUSION: The Future of Digital Diplomacy. Glossary of Terms Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

'Rapid increases in the availability and power of connection technologies are changing the modes of international relations and the conditions for statecraft in the 21^st century. This volume makes an important contribution to our understanding of how. This is a smart read for foreign policy practioners and those that study them.' — Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2009-13)

‘This unique collection of case studies on digital diplomacy dispenses with technological determinism and concentrates upon the management of change across the core practices of diplomacy. As such, it represents a timely and indispensable intervention in an emerging field of practice and scholarship.’— James Pamment, University of Austin, Texas, USA

'The authors in this book, academics and practitioners, do not only have an interest in everything digital. Crucially, they successfully marry that knowledge to a solid understanding of 21st-century diplomatic practice. That is what makes this book special and so far indeed a unique contribution to the field.' — Jan Melissen, Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', and University of Antwerp, Belgium

From the Publisher