Paper short abstract:

Taking stock of digital diplomacy studies and applying what we have learned to a new realm: diaspora politics.

Paper long abstract:

Although new technologies play a significant role in world society and the practice of international politics, they have traditionally received surprisingly little attention by International Relations scholars. Many have emphasized this shortcoming, but it has only been recently that systematic inquiry into the nature and effects of new technologies, such as the rise of digital, have begun to appear on the IR landscape. We are now at the point, however, where such new developments can be surveyed, assessed and critiqued, important ideas synthesized, and key issues raised for future scholarship. This paper analyzes new developments in the area of digital diplomacy, with two particular areas of emphasis: 1) the role of social media among diplomats and foreign ministries; and, 2) the use of social media and digital tools in diaspora politics, both in terms of organizing diaspora groups as well as cultivating relationships between diasporas and home governments. Taken together, social media use between and amongst diplomats and diasporas represent the most intriguing and promising two research areas for future scholarship in the field of digital diplomacy.