The Future

of the
The digital dipiomacy potentiai
By K a m en Lozev a n d A rt M urra y
A
nation's diplomatic missions
are its eyes, ears and mouth,
with the brain located in a capital
city up to halfway around the
world. The United States alone has
more than 300 diplomatic outposts
in 177 countries. Evet^ signal sent
and received needs to be clear,
timely and accurate. Every deci-
sion, and the actions it puts into
motion, must be carefully thought
outnot an easy feat in today's
complex, fast-changing universe.
In the world of diplomacy, poor
decision-making and miscommunica-
tion have unforgiving consequences.
Last month's article, "Politics at the
Speed of Thought" (kmworld.com/
AxticIes/Column/The-Future-of-the-
Future/Politics-at-the-speed-of-
thought-89105.aspx), showed just
how quickly nation-toppling events
can unfold.
Old vs. new
Many of the traditional elements
of diplomacydialog, negotiation,
treaties and agreementsare still
very much a part of the diplomatic
landscape. Even today, if you travel
to some far-off destination, you are
likely to find that the old rubber
passport stamp remains a staple of
the consulate's toolbox.
The primary actors are also essen-
tially the same, except the general pub-
lic now plays a more prominent role.
That's where the traditional actors need
to make some serious adjustment. Ajid
that adjustment is coming in the form
of "digital diplomacy."
The Vienna Convention of 1961
recognizes that one of the main func-
tions of a diplomat is to collect infor-
mation and report developments to
the home state. That role is just as
valid today as it was back then. But
the old days in which embassy staff
spent untold hours listening to radio
and television broadcasts, or whis-
pering to their counterparts in a dark
comer of a cafe and reporting their
findings in a cablegram, are gone.
As Jeffrey Cooper states in his
book. Diplomacy in the Information
Age (2010), "diplomats and min-
istries have lost their monopoly on
information about foreign affairs."
Small wonder. How can countries
effectively communicate when
their embassy buildings are sur-
rounded by concrete barriers and
concertina wire?
Old-style diplomacy followed
what might be called an equivalent
of the "Newtonian" model. It can be
likened to a billiards champion strik-
ing the balls on a pool table, with
some reasonable expectation of
where they might end up. The words
"what angle shall we use?" often
came up when discussing strategy in
diplomatic circles.
The new world of diplomacy is
more like, a quantum mechanical
model. State changes can occur nearly
instantaneously, at discrete levels,
with little wiggle room in between.
Social media now spreads informa-
tion faster than any news broadcast.
To make things even more chal-
lenging, a quantum-like entangle-
ment exists among a host nation's
economy, politics, technology, cul-
ture and the overall wellbeing of the
population. Diplomacy must take all
of those dynamic areas into account.
And by the way, it's reflexive, mean-
ing that one action taken in isolation
can ultimately affect the entire
ecosystem and vice versa.
The U.K.'s Foreign and Common-
wealth Office (FCO) clearly recog-
nizes this and has publicly stated its
intent to go fully digital on both deliv-
ering services as well as carrying out
its foreign policy (see gov.uk/govem
ment/publicadons/the-fco-digital-strat
egy). In January 2012, when the Costa
Concordia cruise ship capsized,
Britain's FCO immediately took to
social media to communicate with
British citizens onboard, responding to
inquiries, monitoring comments being
made about the FCO's response and
quickly making adjustments as needed.
Similarly, the U.S. State Depart-
ment's Quadrennial Diplomacy and
Development Review (QDDR) of
2010 emphasizes digital communica-
tions channels as the platform for con-
ducting what it calls "21st century
statecraft" (state.gov/s/dmr/qddr). That
first ever quadrennial review was
home out of the recognition that
power is shifting from a centralized
command and control model to the
social network and consequently to
the population at large.
Dissolving geographic
boundaries
A case in point is Britain's FCO
reaching out to the Somali diaspora of
about 1 million people scattered
across more than two dozen countries
in Europe, Africa, North America and
the Middle East. Beginning with a
conference in February 2012, the
FCO has been using digital technol-
ogy and social networking to actively
promote the U.K.'s commitment to
supporting the development of a more
stable Somalia by encouraging online
debate and actually listening to the
voices of the people of Somalia.
The combination of an educated
Somali diaspora and a strong tradition
of community activism contributed to
making this new method of diplomatic
engagement a success. As was indi-
cated in the FCO's digital strategy doc-
ument referenced above: "Digital
enabled us to reach people where we
did not have a diplomatic presence, and
increased our influence where we did."
Similarly in Iran, both the United
States and the United Kingdom are
using digital diplomacy despite the
absence of an official embassy. The
digital presence has resulted in a
growing audience of Iranian citizens
engaging in discussions about a wide
variety of sensitive topics ranging
from Iran's nuclear program to
humans rights to westem sanctions
to media censorship.
Other examples abound, espe-
cially regarding the use of social
media during the Arab Spring upris-
ings. In the case of Libya, Westem
diplomats were able lo identify
and communicate with previously
unknown individuals who ended up
playing major roles in the new gov-
ernment. Downplaying the main-
stream news networks' portrayal of
the NATO intervention, decision
makers paid closer attention to the
more important channelwhat the
people of Libya actually thought and
saidand discussing those thoughts
with them, in Arabic.
Opportunities for KM
Digital diplomacy plays an ever-
increasing role in our volatile world,
perhaps even averting future wars.
Technology-enabled social net-
works, when flooded with false
rumors and incorrect knowledge,
can quickly lead to mass hysteria,
confusion and hostility. But when
those same networks connect and
engage enough minds having the
right knowledge and the ability to
communicate across cultural and
other barriers, the upside potential is
virtually limitless.
Knowledge-enabled digital com-
munication is the glue that can bind us
in ways that diplomatic pouches,
cables and negotiations across large
imposing conference tables never
could. KM'ers around the globe have
a golden opportunity to help make this
Important transformation happen. I
K a m en L oz ev , Ph.D., ka m en loz a v @a bv .bg, is
a n a uthor a n d lecturer in philosophy a n d inter-
n a tion a l rela tion s at South-West Un iv ersity
'Neofit Rilski', B la goev gra d , B ulga ria , speoia liz -
in g in d igita l d iplom a oy a n d the tra n sform a tion
of Ea stern Europea n econ om ies. A rt M urra y
is CEO of A pplied K n owled ge Soien oes
(a kscien ces.oom ) a n d oo-d irector of the Enter-
prise of the Future Progra m a : the George
Wa shin gton Un iv ersity Ir^titute for K n owled ge
a n d In n ov a tion (gwu. ed u/ ^i ki ), e-m a il
a m urra y Sa kscien ces.com .
2 2 KMv\bHd June 2013 www.kmworld.com