Abstract
ABSTRACT Digital diplomacy has become indispensable amid COVID-19-imposed travel restrictions, social distancing and stay at home guidelines, causing many African countries to increasingly utilise social media platforms for the conduct of diplomacy. This study examines how the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) practises digital diplomacy, and specifically ‘social media diplomacy’. It analyses the MFA’s posts on Twitter and Facebook in terms of content, in addition to a network analysis of connections. The study aimed to determine the government’s tactics and strategies, and to consider its challenges. Findings indicate that the number of social media connections have not changed significantly relative to the pre-COVID-19 period, suggesting that while the MFA is equipped to deploy social media diplomacy to conduct public diplomacy, its tactics and strategies are not optimal. This article proposes alternative tactics and strategies, such as networking and coalition-building with other actors, to achieve the country’s overall foreign policy objectives.
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