The European Union and Digital Diplomacy

Abstract

Abstract The chapter examines the main features and trends characterizing the European Union’s (EU) efforts in the digital diplomacy domain. The EU, like other national and international political entities, has recently embraced social media and other digital technologies as a way to engage with foreign audiences and raise its global profile. Because of its unique nature—a hybrid and unfinished political entity mixing intergovernmental and supranational features—the EU’s foray into digital diplomacy faces numerous challenges, from its communication strategy’s internal (i.e. within the EU) bias, to the lack of coordination among the various stakeholders involved, the competition with member states, to the ‘communication deficit’ that still besets the organization. As a ‘normative power’ with less historical baggage and a more positive reputation (at least outside Europe) than its member states, the EU has nonetheless the potential to be successful and effective in projecting its ‘soft power’ through digital channels. The regional organization has made some strides in this regard, but it has not fully exploited the opportunities that ‘going digital’ entails. The chapter elaborates on the challenges and opportunities in European Union digital diplomacy by providing empirical examples of EU efforts in this domain (the 2017 ‘European Way’ (EAAS 2017) social media campaign and the EU’s communication strategy during the Iran nuclear deal negotiations) and linking them to theoretical debates in the fields of international relations and communication.