Book VI Alternative (Including Track 2) Diplomacy, 27 Public Diplomacy and its Offshoots

Subject(s):

Consular relations — Consulates — Diplomatic relations — Since World War II — Governments

This chapter discusses public diplomacy, particularly in the context of the digital age. Diplomats now have an increasingly public role to play in projecting their government’s message locally, not just by media appearances and newspaper articles, but by regular use of social media, blogging, Twitter, and evolving techniques. And though technological change has been largely beneficial, the chapter also points to the challenges that technology brings to the field. Diplomats will be part of the debate on our digital rights, tackling the toughest issues around trust and transparency, and helping to find the balance between freedom of expression and the rights of others. Governments will continue to lose their monopoly on information and influence. Secrets will become harder to justify and harder to keep. And in the midst these the role of diplomats is being transformed faster than at any point in history.