Innovations in Public Diplomacy

Professor Natalia Chaban, PD-PCF UC/ UC Department of Media and Communication

Professor Donald Matheson, PD-PCF UC/ UC Department of Media and Communication

Associate Professor Jeremy Moses, UC Department of Political Science and International Relations

Shaylee Sinclair, The UC Aho Hīnātore | UC Accelerator Scholarship 2022-2023 research fellow

Pankaj Raj, PD-PCF Research Intern, Masters in European Governance (M2), Sciences Po Grenoble, France

An increase in the digitalisation of society has meant technology companies have gained unprecedented wealth, data, and influence on a global scale. This shift has raised concerns regarding the responsibility and accountability of these tech giants and invited governments to innovate diplomacy seeking strategic frameworks to foster constructive conversations between technology giants and governments in order to mitigate risks and increasing threats information manipulation causes to democratic frameworks and national security through social media and digital platforms.

The project has two parts to it.  Part I, titled “Understanding TechPlomacy:  A strategy for constructive dialogue between technology giants and states”, had our research team exploring the concept of Technology Diplomacy, also known as TechPlomacy, proposed first by Denmark. Denmark pioneered this strategic framework introducing TechPlomacy in 2017, aiming to minimize threats posed by unprecedented technological growth NS to facilitate construction of a productive conversations between technology giants and states while considering ethical concerns surrounding direct communication, transparency, and accountability. Part I, conducted in collaboration with  Shaylee Sinclair, The UC Aho Hīnātore | UC Accelerator Scholarship 2022-2023 research fellow, explored the evolution of Danish TechPlomacy from 2017 to 2022, the creation and objectives of TechPlomacy, its operational structure, and the role of the tech ambassador.

Part II, titled “Innovations in public diplomacy: How the EU and EU Member States diplomacy addresses security and democracy threats posed by the design of international tech companies”, extend the Part I findings and sheds light on how the EU and EU member states innovate their diplomatic practices to provide security for their citizens and increase their capabilities to minimise the risks and threats of the disorder.  Open democratic societies are the most vulnerable to information manipulation, and the EU and EU member states are among those societies.     Our first main objective is to explore how does the EU and its member states – through their diplomatic practice -- mitigate risks of information manipulation threatening to undermine democracy and security of the EU societies now and in the future.  In our second research objective, we investigate the diplomatic practices centered around the design vector, particularly those employed by the EU Member States and the EU as a whole. Part II focuses on a range of diplomatic practices and innovations how to mitigate those risks.  In Part II, the UC-based team collaborates with Pankaj Raj, PD-PCF Research Intern, Masters in European Governance (M2), Sciences Po Grenoble, France.