Essay Sample on Digital Diplomacy: How Twitter is Changing the Global Landscape

Twitter is not only the fastest growing social media platform but also an effective platform for digital diplomacy for most ambassadors across the world. Gil de Zuniga et al. note that most ambassadors have joined Twitter, and most of them are changing the way the world is viewed (Gil de Zuniga et al., 2017). Furthermore, their twitter posts have been significant in changing the construction of foreign policy as well as the strategies drafted in response to international challenges. In ancient Rome, this phenomenon was referred to as Vox populi; today, it is described using an array of names including ediplomacy and Twiplomacy, among others. Fundamentally, diplomats have become more active and vocal regarding the various sensitive global issue on Twitter.

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Marshall points out that Diplo produced the first publication analyzing the interaction between diplomats and netizens on Twitter (Marshall 2015). Ideally, this publication illustrates various experiences and anecdotes of authentic conversations between policymakers and ordinary citizens. From the release, it is evident that most diplomats use Twitter to post about different national and international policies. Consequently, they engage the netizens to inspire various viewpoints, some of which have been used in policy implementation. Furthermore, they use this social media platform to engage citizens in foreign policy. It is no secret that almost all diplomats have discovered that the best way to interact with the ordinary citizen is through Twitter. From novices like British Ambassador to the United States @PeterWestmacott to Twitterati like US Representative to the United Nations @AmbassadorRice, diplomats have taken to social media to foster the exchange of ideas and gather more information about various global events.

Twitter and other social media platforms are a way to abstract foreign policy from state to state and instead gear it towards ordinary people. In this regard, @SlaughterAM, a former director of policy planning in the US State Department, points out that diplomats and ambassadors try to engage with non-state actors to get a view of what the ordinary citizens want. They try to minimize their interaction with state actors to ensure that they gather, analyze, manage, and react to events in a manner that is beneficial to the average citizens. Wiseman maintains that Twitter is not just a rhetorical platform as it allows diplomats and other entities to speak directly with the citizens, see a country's people for who they are as well as understand how national governments work (Wiseman, 2011). As such, they do not use this platform to post about personal ideas; instead, they use them to update netizens on new policies and explain their governments stand on various issues. In most cases, their Twitter handles are used for official use.

Gil de Zuniga et al. (2017) note that over 90% of the leaders of the UN member countries are active on Twitter. These leaders have followed the example set by Barrack Obama, who was the first leader to set up a Twitter account in 2007. Barrack Obama is the most followed leader with over 75 million followers on his campaign account @Barrack Obama. He is ahead of Pope Francis @Pontifex, who has over 28 million followers. The US President Institution Twitter account @POTUS is one of the most active accounts as it receives over 12000 retweets per every tweet posted. @POTUS tweets intermittently; Nonetheless, his tweets capture the headlines in various news platforms.

Despite having the highest number of followers on Twitter, most diplomats only follow back a few people. Interestingly, they follow various state actors. For instance, @BarackObama only supports, including Russia's prime minister @MedvedevRussiae, among others. On the other hand, the @POTUS account does not follow any foreign leader. It follows national entities, including NASA, among others. From this perspective, it can be argued that most foreign ministries use Twitter to create mutual Twitter relations by supporting each other on the platform and mentioning each other on an array of tweets.

Gil de Zuniga et al., (2017) maintains that an active diplomat account is crucial in reaching out to local influencers and help in amplifying government message to various regions. Furthermore, diplomats can use Twitter to voice out positive news in the face of atrocities. For example, in May 2016, the Israeli Foreign ministry retweeted positive messages throughout its official Twitter account to more than 2 million followers. It further invited more users to retweet their positive messages and inspire peace. During that year, the #IsraelRetweetedMe campaign was one of the most active threads. In this regard, Marshall (2015) maintains that diplomats can express all nuances of foreign policy in a single post. Furthermore, imploring people to retweet enables them to reach more netizens in the shortest time possible.

The publication produced by Dip guides diplomats on how to use Twitter to their advantage. Fundamentally, it recommends that diplomats should use a 140-character focus to ensure that their tweets remain concise and provide a stronger impact on their communication. As such, they have discovered that Twitter is a useful diplomatic newswire and an indispensable news source. Wiseman (2011) notes that various governments monitor each other through online communication. It is thus, not rare to see governments sending a public tweet in place of the traditional diplomatic demarche to another government.

Twitter diplomacy has become popular among world leaders due to its accelerated network effect. Through this platform, world leaders can shorten feedback loops and amplify their messages. Gil de Zuniga et al. (2017) reason that a shortened feedback loop implies that within minutes, a leader can gauge public reaction towards a particular issue. In essence, Twitter cuts off the middle person who provides feedback. In this regard, having the ability to leverage a Twitter account means that leaders can quickly develop diplomatic acknowledgment through likes and retweets.

Gil de Zuniga et al. (2017) note that Twitter diplomacy has various implications for bilateral relations. Fundamentally, relationships have become more fragile and "undiplomatic." Furthermore, Twitter has increased cases of tensions and conflicts among nations. For instance, in August 2018, the Canadian Foreign Minister criticized the Saudi Government for arresting activists and advocated for their release on social media. Consequently, the Saudi government retaliated by expelling Canada's ambassador, suspending all flights to Canada, and putting an end to the student exchange programs involving the country. Diplomats need to more careful about what they post on their Twitter accounts to avoid the escalation of situations and destruction of bilateral ties. As seen, what started as a frustrated tweet created tensions between the two nations.

The current digital age allows world leaders to broaden their audience and shorten the time taken to receive feedback on policies. Nonetheless, if diplomats do not control their message, there lies the risk of destroying relations between various nations. To fully exploit the advantages that come with Twitter, governments need to rethink their social media guidelines as well as technological tools. This factor is because Twitter wars can trigger real conflicts among nations.

References

Gil de Zuniga, H., Diehl, T., Huber, B. and Liu, J. (2017). Personality Traits and Social Media Use in 20 Countries: How Personality Relates to Frequency of Social Media Use, Social Media News Use, and Social Media Use for Social Interaction. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(9), pp.540-552.

Marshall, P. (2015). What Diplomats Do: The Life and Work of Diplomats. The Round Table, 104(3), pp.371-372.

Wiseman, G. (2011). Theorizing Diplomacy and Diplomats on Their Own Terms. International Studies Review, 13(2), pp.348-350.