{"id":34332,"date":"2017-09-21T06:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=34332"},"modified":"2017-10-03T14:48:37","modified_gmt":"2017-10-03T03:48:37","slug":"does-the-emperor-have-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/does-the-emperor-have-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the emperor have clothes?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Nick Bryant went close to saying, \u2018The emperor has no clothes!\u2019 in his recent Lowy Interpreter<\/em> article on rethinking of the value proposition of e-diplomacy<\/a>. Appropriately, the post came to me via my Twitter feed while we were in Vienna running a cyber workshop for states in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, but that means I\u2019m only just now getting the chance to respond.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d agree with many of the problems Nick highlights of diplomats using Twitter. @realdonaldtrump\u2019s Tweets can be so defeating of Western interests that almost anything that stopped him from accessing his smartphone would seem worth it. The EU president making the rookie error of picking a side in a foreign election<\/a> was problematic, and the UK ambassador\u2019s posting of a picture of himself as a robot impersonator<\/a> standing beside President Obama created a bad media day for the UK\u2019s efforts to rebrand itself as hip.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019d argue that those examples blame the tool rather than the user. President Trump is hardly transformed into a nuanced global strategist<\/a> at high-level diplomatic summits. Nor is it likely that he does much less damage in person as he pursues his apparent singular objective of breaking other leaders\u2019 hands<\/a>. As for EU President Donald Tusk, he should have known better: leaders everywhere know that it\u2019s foolhardy to pick a winner in the lead-up to another nation\u2019s election, whether it\u2019s on Twitter or TV.<\/p>\n

This is not to say Twiplomacy is on course. As Damien Spry documented here on The Strategist<\/em> recently<\/a>, the desire to seem 21st century has driven our own Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to boost its apparent Facebook followings (most likely using click farms*). That sort of untargeted promotion undermines public diplomacy objectives, makes it harder to reach the intended audience, and wastes taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n

But a failure to use online tools well doesn\u2019t mean we should, or can, give up. Like Nick, I don\u2019t get any joy from seeing diplomacy coarsened, but walking away won\u2019t help. As Russia sharpens its efforts to undermine confidence in Western elections, silencing diplomats wouldn\u2019t help anyone but the Kremlin. As Trump himself has shown, in the 21st century it pays to have your own communication channel where you can speak unfiltered to friends and foes. With every technological revolution, the distance between policymakers and the public has narrowed. And with artificial intelligence coming, we\u2019re not even close to being done. Diplomats need to function effortlessly in the world we actually live in.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s going wrong and could it be changed? Here are three thoughts.<\/p>\n

First, there often appears to be a lack of strategic thinking behind the use of digital tools. Social media and other tools are only worth using if they help achieve an objective. There are multiple objectives those tools could help DFAT achieve (like communicating with Australians during a crisis, or building local support for a particular diplomatic objective in a country). More focus on goals could help.<\/p>\n

Second, and related to the first, foreign ministries in many countries appear to be going through something of an identity crisis, unsure of their roles in a world where everyone is engaged in international relations. In this transition period, many fall back on the crutch of claiming that they\u2019re \u2018pursuing the national interest\u2019, but read an annual report to find out what those interests might be and you\u2019ll be left perplexed. Without clarity of purpose it can be hard to pursue public-facing objectives.<\/p>\n

Third, we need to think beyond Twitter and Facebook. Digital diplomacy isn\u2019t just about public messaging using two major platforms. To paraphrase former Secretary of State John Kerry<\/a>, digital diplomacy is just doing diplomacy. Diplomats should be using the tools that help them most effectively do their jobs in today\u2019s world. Twitter is one tool; robots, AI and big data are going to be helpful too.<\/p>\n

The adoption of technologies by foreign ministries and leaders hasn\u2019t always been pretty, but the revolution has only just begun. The emperor doesn\u2019t have many clothes, but he needs to get dressed.<\/p>\n

* Clarification: While DFAT\u2019s anomalous Facebook followers likely come from click farms exploiting paid promotion campaigns, DFAT has clarified that click farms were not used intentionally.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick Bryant went close to saying, \u2018The emperor has no clothes!\u2019 in his recent Lowy Interpreter article on rethinking of the value proposition of e-diplomacy. 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