Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / The increasing importance of media, especially digital media in society has been studied widely, from identity formation to activist movements. In international relations, digital media studies have focused considerably on public digital diplomacy and social networks, sometimes neglecting a crucial step: the making, the processing and the transmission of the sacrosanct and secret diplomatic data. This study aims to explore how digital revolutions impact on the way diplomats communicate and share information. The dependent question will revolve around the notion of secrecy; the independent question will analyse secrecy in the era of digital diplomacy. A statistical database was built and semi-structured interviews with American, French and South African diplomats have been conducted. It aims to highlight three thematic fields. The first one looks into organization, legitimacy, sovereignty and governance issues raised by the emergence of new technologies. The second one looks into the redefinition of secrecy in our digital era. The third part is a case study that will investigate how software, open platforms and processing of computerized data redefine, modernize and legitimize the way diplomats work, share information and engage with the general public for the greater good. The main assumption is that public action will only be legitimate in society if – and only if – society recognizes the state as a true network actor.

The increasing importance of media, especially digital media, in society has been studied widely, from identity formation to activist movements. In international relations studies digital media’s impact has focused considerably on public diplomacy 2.0. This focus has caused a more holistic view of digital diplomacy to be neglected. This study explores how digital media’s impacts as a part of mediatization are seen within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Semi-structured interviews with 11 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were conducted. These led to the creation of three thematic fields. The first one looks into how the agency of the Ministry is seen to be impacted by digitalization. The second section looks into how community building is seen as essential. And the third part investigated how the ministry evaluates the impacts of digitalization on other ministries of foreign affairs in the light of its own experience. The finding is that the ministry is expanding into a new digital sphere and that in the process of so doing the Ministry is not a tabula rasa, but it mirrors the cultural and political context of the country within the online sphere.

Digital diplomacy (e-Diplomacy), is commonly defined as the use of information and communication technology for the purposes of attaining foreign policy goals. The emerging field of digital diplomacy has been largely neglected in academic research. Also, in practice, this area has been slow to evolve compared to other areas of public service such as e-government, e-education and e-health. This research draws on the existing literature to present a novel conceptual framework that could be used to guide the implementation of e-diplomacy. A new e-diplomacy maturity framework is formulated to address the modern functions of foreign relations in today’s global environment. The e-diplomacy maturity framework is derived from the theory of growth models, the e-government maturity model, the broader literature on diplomacy and the practice of diplomacy. To validate the conceptual framework, a qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews with diplomats and professionals from the foreign ministries of the USA, the UK and Qatar were conducted. The novelty of this research is based on the development of a conceptual framework of e-diplomacy maturity and implementation that was built around the scaffolding of conjectures that were tested to determine their validity. It can guide research scholars wishing to explore the discipline of digital diplomacy. It will also assist foreign ministries to identify the stage they have reached in deploying ICT in their diplomatic functions. This study should also provide policy makers, diplomats, ICT managers, and practitioners with a greater understanding of the stages and factors that encourage or hinder e-diplomacy implementation and maturity.

Yes / Electronic diplomacy (E-diplomacy) is the use of technology by nations to define and establish diplomatic goals and objectives and to efficiently carry out the functions of diplomats. These functions include representation and promotion of the home nation, establishing both bilateral and multilateral relations, consular services and social engagement. It encapsulates the adoption of multiple ICT tools over the Internet to support a nation’s interests in other countries while ensuring that foreign relations are improved between the countries. Given its embryonic nature, little scholarly research has been undertaken to study its influence on diplomatic functions and the various factors that influence its implementation. This paper applies the Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) methodological approach to identify factors that impact the implementation of e-diplomacy and to determine their causal relationship and rankings. This study applies the ISM methodology to the subject of e-diplomacy. The ISM-based model provides a framework for practitioners to aid decision-making and manage the implementation of e-diplomacy.

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the elements and tools of public diplomacy of Spain in the Czech Republic. For this purpose, the text represents actors, which are involved in building the reputation of Spain, and government concept Marca Espana, which substantially affects a strategy presentation abroad. The thesis will focus attention not only on specific projects that Spain presents, but also monitors the use of new technologies when communicating with the Czech public. The compiled topic is founded on the study of scientific literature dealing with public diplomacy, and the subsequent application of a particular case. This thesis also examines how cooperation works between the various governmental departments in Madrid and among actors in the Czech Republic. Based on this analysis, the author concludes that the Spanish public diplomacy activities in the Czech Republic primarily have a cultural character and are presented through new media, which proves that the Spanish agenda is able to adapt flexibly to new trends in diplomacy. The main contribution of this thesis is a comprehensive presentation of all the actors of the Spanish public diplomacy and its activities, that are still deficient in wider attention in the Czech Republic.

International relations is constructed of ideas and concepts that have won legitimacy through the passage of time. Diplomacy is an ancient practices that has evolved and has become a practice that states have accepted as legitimate. The arrival of the digital world and the new Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the diplomatic world has made it possible to adopt trends like engaging in social media applications like Twitter to practice diplomacy. This creates the need to better understand the use of social media platforms as a tool of diplomacy. The growing engagement of Heads of States and Governments in communicating messages on Twitter, the so-called Twidiplomacy, is changing from what was considered a mere “trend” to a “common practice” in the conduct of diplomatic practice. As authorities share their culture through their behaviour and it is further shared and emulated through the use of Twitter by other authorities, these actions create new collective identities and shared knowledge in the diplomatic practice. These trends may lead to new patterns of diplomatic behaviour that may transform the diplomatic practice. Abdullakkutty (2018:11) contends that as an extension of innovative digital diplomacy “the use of social media is so extended that it can easily realise the diplomatic functions of negotiation, representation and communication”. Using a case study of tweets by a few Heads of States and Governments tweeting on similar major diplomatic incidents, this study researches these trends in innovative diplomacy leading to Twidiplomacy and how these are affecting the traditional roles of diplomacy, namely: negotiation, representation and communication. / Mini Dissertation (MDips)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Political Sciences / MA (Diplomatic Studies) / Unrestricted

This thesis contributes to the digital and narrative turn in International Relations, supplying a response to the inquiry ‘Which strategic narratives have emerged in Ukraine’s digital diplomacy following the February 2022 Russian invasion?’ The paper observed how the field of politics is revitalised by the interplay between political communication during times of incertitude, digital diplomacy and the trend of personalisation. The thesis evaluated different approaches taken by prior theorists of these spheres and leveraged their knowledge in order to respond to the research question. The treatise employed a qualitative content analysis upon 12 presidential speeches, 4 parliament addresses and 10 social media posts. This content was published by Ukrainian elite political figures during the initial phase of the war, between February 24th and March 29th, 2022. This methodology generated three national identity archetypes (NIAs): the ‘hero’, the ‘partner’ and the ‘victim’. The treatise further conceived Ukrainian’s strategic narratives mechanism composed of distinct values, objectives, demands, target recipients, channels and ensuing initiatives, adjacent to these three NIAs, pillars of Kyiv’s political communication. The paper concludes with future directions for strategic narrative research deriving from the experiences of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

This paper examines the narratives that Ukraine is telling through their official Defence of Ukraine account on X, and what the implications of those narratives are. At the time of this study, a conflict is taking place in Ukraine after the invasion of Russia on Ukrainian territory. Both sides have communicated stories that aim to explain the conflict, but it is especially Ukraine that has succeeded in capturing the interest and approval of the rest of the world with its employment of well-crafted storytelling strategies through social media. Through an interpretative analysis of the content of the DefenceU account using a visual narrative analysis method, the study finds that the account presents an overarching narrative of moral judgments where Russia is portrayed as ‘evil’, and Ukraine as ‘good’ and destined to be victorious. The premise of the message as presented by the DefenceU account is found to essentially be an ideological and moral statement that is used to increase sentiments of approval in the public. Ukraine is enhancing its soft power through the persuasive power of the narrative that is constructed.

This master’s thesis offers a contribution to the ongoing debate on the utilization of social media by a world leader. It focuses on the role of president Zelensky as a political leader and his online communication in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This study investigates the role of a diplomatic practice in an online environment. An abductive content analysis is used for this research. President Zelensky’s Twitter communication is divided into the categories of Political communication, Anti-Russia discourse and Leadership communication. Tweets of president Zelensky between February 24, 2022, and February 24, 2023, have been used as an empirical material employing the Twitter advanced search. The theoretical perspectives of Diplomacy and Media Ecology are therefore utilized to create an understanding of Zelensky’s communication. The results of the study reveal that president Zelensky incorporates in his Twitter communication different diplomatic concepts that are affected by the current Media Ecology, while traditional diplomatic negotiations are only reported on through his Twitter account, other aspects of modern diplomatic practices, namely Track II Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy are highlighted throughout the tweets.

How are the two superpowers of the world using Twitter as a platform for gathering global support for their policies when tweeting about an ongoing international conflict? That is the question that is answered in this thesis through a small-N case study. A mixed-method content analysis, based on security branding and generic framing, was applied to the data to determine how security branding is used by the actors to acquire social power. The findings suggest that China is using the situation to throw mud at, and question the morality of, the US and its behavior in international relations. The US is tweeting on a broader spectrum of topics. These topics include how the US and its allies and partners have supported Ukraine and taken action to weaken Russia. Another vital topic found is that the US uses Twitter to display its disagreement with the actions taken by Russia and Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.