On January 18, 2024, the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, and the State Department, invited me to discuss my work on Digital Diplomacy. In this 45 minute lecture, I argue that in order to research digital diplomacy one must first research the digital society. This is because diplomacy is a social institution. When societies adopt new norms, values and logics, there are also embraced by diplomats and it is through diplomats that such norms and values permeate into foreign ministries giving rise to new working routines. In the lecture, I argue that the digital society is marked by three norms and logics: reciprocal surveillance, a commitment to transparency and the annihilations of time and space. Next, I demonstrate how these norms shape the behaviors of digital society members. Finally, I illustrate how these digital norms and logics have permeated into foreign minitrsue leading diplomats to adopt new working routines, new modes of communication and new communicative cultures.
The lecture can be viewed in the tweet below.
