Цифровизация дипломатической деятельности

More than 900,000 new users appear on the Internet every day1. Digitalization emphasizes almost all spheres of human life nowadays, including foreign policy and international relations. In this regard, the study of digital diplomacy is relevant, as it allows us to identify the features of the “new” diplomatic activity. In addition, the relevance of this study is determined by the following factors:
Firstly, digital technologies allow an increasing number of different actors to participate in the political and diplomatic process. This leads to universal involvement, on the one hand, and to the expansion of the “list of contacts”. New and influential gamblers are emerging online, both within national borders and in the international arena. Such entities are capable of not only directly or indirectly contributing to the strengthening of the reputation of another state in the global space, but also seriously spoil it.
Secondly, digital technologies have increased the ability of non-state actors to participate in debates due to live broadcasts, comments, private messages. The transparency of diplomacy is definitely an advantage, but it makes society more vulnerable to political control.
Thirdly, digital technologies are accelerating the dissemination of information. This has increased the amount of information available to the public. But the question of whether it is manageable, trustworthy or safe is on the international affairs agenda, which proves the relevance of this study today.
Essence
The essence of scientific research is the active dissemination of social networks and the study of their impact on diplomatic activities.
1 DIGITAL AROUND THE WORLD // Datareportal web-site [Electronic resource]. – URL: https:// datareportal.com/global-digital-overview
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The object of this study is diplomatic activity from 2009 to the end of 2020.
The subject of the research is digitalization as a new stage in the formation of diplomatic activity.
The aim of the scientific work is to identify the features of diplomacy in the digital age.
Based on this aim, we have identified the following objectives:
1) to explore the origins of digital diplomacy using the example of Twiplomacy;
2) to identify the features of the new institutional conduction of diplomatic activity in social networks;
3) to reveal the essence of the personal accounts of diplomats in social networks, whether the information there is official and confirmed.
The chronological framework of the work covers the period from 2009 to the
end of 2020. 2009 serves as the starting point for Obama’s accession to the presidency of the United States. His Twitter immediately began to gain hundreds of subscribers, and a little later he became the most read in the world on this social network. Then, a year later, Instagram appears. In addition, Joseph Nye’s two concepts of “soft power” and the “concept of engagement” prevailed at this time. These two concepts have played a significant role in the development of digital diplomacy. At the same time, the term «datafication» of international relations appeared.
The source base of the research consists of:
Materials related to digital diplomacy. This group includes the following sources: web pages of the diplomatic departments of Russia, the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, accounts of the same departments in social networks Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Vkontakte, accounts of diplomatic figures in the same social
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networks. These sources show the scale of the spread of digitalization of international relations today and its impact on the audience.
The historiography of the issue includes a corpus of scientific works of Russian and foreign researchers devoted to the analysis of digital diplomacy. The first part of our historiographic analysis presents an analysis of the works of experts from the Russian school digital diplomacy, and the second part – the foreign one.
Russian sources
A huge contribution to the Russian historiography of digital diplomacy was made by N.A. Tsvetkova, G.O. Yarygin, I. V. Surma, D.N. Baryshnikova, M.S. Baglikova, L.G. Vikulovа, who paid attention to the basics of digitalization in international relations, theory, research methods, the reasons for the emergence and future activation.
The next group of scientists have compiled works on social networks, such a phenomenon as Twiplomacy. Among them B.A. Golovan, M.S. Baglikova, N.A. Kuklish, A.A. Torrealba. Twiplomacy is a completely new round of diplomatic activity, which began in 2011, but already has its own website with numerous statistics. The research of the above scientists is a valuable source of information and a “guide” to the world of Twiplomacy today.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the field of digital diplomacy plays the great role in Russian scholars’ research works. In addition, more and more experts are beginning to consider this phenomenon, and every day the doctrine of the digitalization of diplomacy is spreading.
Foreign sources
Speaking about foreign researchers, especially American ones, great attention is paid here to the initial steps of digitalization in diplomacy. The philosophical foundations of digital diplomacy are laid out in the writings of Anne-Mary
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Slaughter, who served as Director of Policy Planning at the US Department of State in 2009-2011. In 2019, I. Manor released the great work «Digitalization of Public Diplomacy», which describes how digitalization has influenced institutions, practitioners and audiences of diplomacy.
Also, an undeniable contribution to the historiography of digital diplomacy was made by B.Verrekia, J.Pamment, C. Bjola. These authors have graphically described the changes in diplomacy in the digital age, but the works contain more theoretical data than practical data.
Summarizing Russian and foreign sources, we can conclude that the topic is indeed at the stage of active study. The difference lies in the fact that a theoretical background is traced in foreign practice, while the scientific works of Russian experts take into account practical cases of the spread of digital diplomacy and its impact on the international arena.
Research methodology.
During the research we used the following methods: social-media analysis, case-study analysis, content analysis, limitation method.
As for the social-media analysis, it helps to analyze such social networks as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and study such a phenomenon as Twiplomacy. Social media analysis allows us to collect data on the number of hashtags on a specific topic, trace the characteristics and behavior of a specific user, study location-based interactions. Social media analysis is one of the main methods of this research, which allows to achieve the main goal of master thesis.
As a rule, a specific event is taken as the basis for a case-study. This research is filled with this kind of method, especially the third chapter. In the last part of scientific work, I look at the personal digital diplomacy of specific diplomats. It is logical that it is physically impossible to take into account every diplomat of every state, that is why were considered examples of the most
prominent of them, such as Michael McFaul and Maria Zakharova. Highlight
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specific cases with specific personalities and analyzing information within the framework of the given cases was made by case-study analysis.
Content analysis is a method that allows to classify posts, stories, tweets, posts in communities in social networks. This method helps to consider the content submitted by diplomatic agencies or leaders as part of a scientific study. To analyze the specific manner of the presentation of information, what reaction this information evokes from readers (comments and likes), what decisions it leads to.
Due to the limitation method, in this research were singled out only the brightest and most significant diplomats who have proven themselves on social networks.
Structure of the work: the research consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, a list of primary and secondary sources.