Abstract
The power of digital technology to shape the world in the twenty-first century is undeniable. States and non-state actors use digital tools in order to compete for international attention, attract partners, gain legitimacy and secure influence. In the quest to project an image of an attractive, credible and capable actor on the global stage, diplomats are increasingly utilising digital diplomacy. Digital diplomacy has a potential to reach sizeable audiences in a rapid and cost-effective manner, making it very attractive for small states with limited resources to project their voice and influence internationally. The growth of digital diplomacy is intertwined with globalization, technological and informational change. This chapter explores New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) approach to digital diplomacy through the use of social media. We define digital diplomacy as a form of public diplomacy that involves the use of digital technologies and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Wechat by states to enter into communication with foreign publics in a low cost manner. Digital diplomacy covers with a wide range of issues including foreign affairs, consular matters, security, trade and tourism.
This chapter draws on interviews with MFAT’s communications team and observation of MFAT social media feeds. The analysis and views expressed in the chapter are the authors’ own.
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Notes
- 1.
Sillanpää (2015).
- 2.
Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California, cited by McDowell (2008), pp. 7–8.
- 3.
Some countries limit access to certain websites for their citizens.
- 4.
Ivor Roberts (2017), p. 556.
- 5.
Chaban et al. (2017), pp. 1273–1289.
- 6.
Estonia and Latvia.
- 7.
Goetschel (1998), p. 15.
- 8.
Oxford Dictionaries, “Social Media,” accessed 22 January 2019, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/social_media.
- 9.
See also Ali Fisher, “The Use of Social Media in Public Diplomacy: Scanning E-Diplomacy by Embassies in Washington, DC,” Take Five (blog), 19 February 2013, https://takefiveblog.org/2013/02/19/the-use-of-social-media-in-public-diplomacy-scanning-e-diplomacy-by-embassies-in-washington-dc.
- 10.
Adesina (2017), p. 10.
- 11.
Adesina (2017), p. 10.
- 12.
Grant (2004).
- 13.
- 14.
Adesina (2017), p. 10.
- 15.
Miskimmon et al. (2013).
- 16.
Hallahan et al. (2007), pp. 3–35.
- 17.
See Cowan and Arsenault (2008), on monologue, dialogue and collaboration modes in public diplomacy.
- 18.
State Services Commission, Performance Improvement Framework Review for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (June 2017), https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Corporate/ministry-foreign-affairs-trade-pif-2017.pdf, 13.
- 19.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Annual Report 2015-2016 (2016), https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/MFAT-Corporate-publications/MFAT-Annual-Report-2015-2016.pdf, 34.
- 20.
For more information see “Follow Us,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed 3 March 2018, https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/follow-us/.
- 21.
Missiroli (2007), p. 20.
- 22.
“New Zealand Story Homepage,” New Zealand Story Group, accessed 5 March 2018, https://www.nzstory.govt.nz.
- 23.
“Our Story,” New Zealand Story Group, accessed 5 March 2018, https://www.nzstory.govt.nz/about-us/our-story.
- 24.
- 25.
Sillanpää (2015).
- 26.
Led by MFAT, NZ Inc provides a platform for consistency in interactions across a number of government ministries.
- 27.
See also “NZ Inc Strategies,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accessed 13 March 2018, https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/nz-inc-strategies.
- 28.
MFAT, Annual Report 2015–2016, 34.
- 29.
MFAT, Annual Report 2015–2016, 34.
- 30.
MFAT, Annual Report 2015–2016, 34.
- 31.
Ivor Roberts (2017), p. 556.
- 32.
“Global Development Twitterati,” The Guardian, 21 September 2011, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/sep/21/global-development-twitter-users-follow?hc_ref=ARSImlEzF7KC1PzQC-kSrL29OVUEv4blzKtcrvgtD1B3MGOH7Sys5n8TPKh3ZREcycU.
- 33.
“Helen Clark: I Hit My First Glass Ceiling at the UN,” The Guardian, 14 June 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/14/helen-clark-i-hit-my-first-glass-ceiling-at-the-un.
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Chaban, N., Kelly, S., Brady, AM. (2019). Small States in a New Era of Public Diplomacy: New Zealand and Digital Diplomacy. In: Brady, AM. (eds) Small States and the Changing Global Order. The World of Small States, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18803-0_5
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