Public Diplomacy and Digital Communication

Abstract

Development in communication technologies and digitalization have deeply affected the norms, goals and working procedures of public diplomacy actors and institutions. This article discusses digitalization of public diplomacy and communication with two different dimensions. The first part is a functional dimension that focuses on the use of digital communication tools in public diplomacy activities. Effects of digital communication platforms on the working procedures and activities of public diplomacy institutions and the use of digital technologies in the evaluation of public diplomacy activities will be discussed. In the second part, how the values and norms of the digital society affect the practice of public diplomacy and the value perceptions of its practitioners will be analyzed with a normative approach. Digitalization of public diplomacy processes cannot be understood without characterizing the digital society that emerged with developments in communication technologies. Digitalization in public diplomacy is an ongoing process where every country is at different levels. Although digitalization has caused radical changes from the language of public diplomacy to the use of social media in policy making, it has not been able to prevent the ongoing discussions in terms of values. As a requirement of digital society, structures of public diplomacy institutions should be flexible and may use digital technologies in innovative ways. Their response to innovation may not be immediate, but over time they are expected to learn to balance the possibilities of digital technologies, the demands of the digital society and their own goals.