Presidents on Twitter

Published in: 29.07.2010

For many people, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube are part of their everyday life. But Social Media can also be used by states and international organisations as instrument for their communication outreach.

Intergovernmental summits like the G8 or G20 still play an important role in international politics. But “public diplomacy” – a broader dialogue with a wider public – plays an increasingly important role.  Diplomats often play the role of moderators who maintain relationships to governments, companies, NGOs and citizens. They have to initiate discussions and forge alliances. Public diplomacy thus means a paradigm shift in diplomacy.

In a globalized world, it is more important than ever to include the different stakeholders. A survey by dimap communications found that already, 34% of all Berlin-based embassies see public diplomacy primarily as “community building”. In comparison, 49% see public diplomacy as “PR” and 12% as “branding”.

The USA are pioneers in the field of “digital diplomacy” and no one shows this better than Barack Obama who has more than 4.5 million followers on Twitter. Recently, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is known for his enthusiasm for technology,also  started twittering  at @kremlinrussia_e. In his first tweet he showed photos of a trip with President Obama to a burger restaurant (Disclaimer: the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation is a client of ours).

Apart from Twitter, Facebook is one of the most important networks – it currently has more than 500 million active users. A number of US embassies use Facebook successfully to establish a relationship with citizens. The US-Embassy in Jakarta for example has more than 135.000 fans on Facebook. “We make our Facebook fun. Jazz, technology, tourism – we have a fascinating history. There are lots about it that people admire.” says Tristam Perry, spokesman for the Embassy.

Especially in Germany, blogs are still underestimated. Steve Clemons, one of the world’s most important foreign policy bloggers, recently had to experience that himself when a German diplomat denied him access to a reception with then-Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier because he was “only a blogger”. Nevertheless: Steve Clemons, too, has to admit that the Germans progressed with regard to blogging diplomats, even though the British embassies are still in front.

In our networked world, the balance of power shifted towards the citizens who want to be further involved in politics. For the American political scientist Joseph S. Nye “leadership” today rests not only on the ability to decide, but on integration and on collaboration: “In a networked world, leadership is more like being in the middle of the circle and attracting others than being and ‘king of the mountain’ and issuing orders to subordinates down below”, Nye writes. Only a dialogue with relevant stakeholders can create a big enough sounding board to enforce political decisions like protecting the climate or global agreements.

Therefore, social networks are an important part of public diplomacy – not only for big countries, but especially for smaller states. In the World Wide Web, everyone is only one click away from the great powers.