Twitter and the Challenges of Digital Diplomacy

Social media has an increasingly important role to play in international politics. An overwhelming proportion of UN member states and individual Ministries of Foreign Affairs have Twitter handles, demonstrating how the speed and accessibility of information through digital tools is a necessary part of conventional diplomatic strategies. Yet the centrality of Twitter to diplomacy, and to digital diplomacy more specifically, is often overlooked. Tweets and images posted on Twitter can provoke strong online and offline reactions, potentially inciting or exacerbating political crises. Paying greater attention to these complex dynamics would provide insight into the political consequences of state exploitations of social media platforms. Doing so is especially important given the rise of digital disinformation campaigns, which digital diplomacy strategies must now confront.