Digital Diplomacy 2.0? A Cross-national Comparison of Public Engagement in Facebook and Twitter

Ronit Kampf, Ilan Manor, Elad Segev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social media holds the potential to foster dialogue between nations and foreign populations. Yet only a few studies to date have investigated the manner in which digital diplomacy is practised by foreign ministries. Using Kent and Taylor's framework for dialogic communication, this article explores the extent to which dialogic communication is adopted by foreign ministries in terms of content, media channels and public engagement. The results of a six-week analysis of content published on Twitter and Facebook by eleven foreign ministries show that engagement and dialogic communication are rare. When engagement does occur, it is quarantined to specific issues. Social media content published by foreign ministries represents a continuous supply of press releases targeting foreign, rather than domestic, populations. A cross-national comparison revealed no discernible differences in the adoption of dialogic principles. Results therefore indicate that foreign ministries still fail to realize the potential of digital diplomacy to foster dialogue.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)331-362
Number of pages32
JournalThe Hague Journal of Diplomacy
Volume10
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • dialogic communication
  • digital diplomacy
  • public diplomacy
  • public engagement
  • social networking sites
  • web 2.0

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Political Science and International Relations

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