Political Communications and International Relations in the Digital Era

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

One of the most novel features of 21st-century international relations is the adoption of the internet and digital technologies, particularly social media, in diplomacy. States have invested large amounts of money into online, outward-facing propaganda apparatuses. We have also witnessed the digitalization of soft power. From Twitter, to Facebook, YouTube and more, the list of social media platforms used in diplomacy (i.e., digital diplomacy) is growing rapidly. These sites also have become a common platform for public officials and leaders to communicate their policy positions to domestic and foreign populations. These developments raise all sorts of interesting questions. For example, what are the advantages and disadvantages of digital diplomacy compared to traditional diplomacy? How effective is online diplomacy in advancing states’ objectives? What communication strategies are employed by countries and their proxies on social media? To what extent can digital diplomacy influence public opinion in host countries? And how can social media be used to manipulate information both domestically and internationally? This panel seeks to address these critical questions and advance our understanding of international relations in the digital age.

The first pair of papers explores the relationship between online communications and international politics. Humayun investigates how a leader’s choice of message and medium can weaken democratic constraints on crisis escalation. Using observational data from Pakistan, he shows that escalatory messages are less likely to alert citizens to the risks of crisis escalation when conveyed via a leader’s Tweets relative to other channels, and also more likely to lower the domestic costs of nationalist anti-foreign mobilization. Jensen studies how changing diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China (ROC) to the People's Republic of China (PRC) influences the online news environment of a country. Specifically, he examines the shifts in emotional valence (positive vs. negative) and topics regarding the ROC and PRC in online news from various countries from 2015 to the present.

The second pair of papers looks at how online communications can be used to manipulate information, both domestically and internationally. Liu and Kim argue that autocrats can reframe international criticism as unfair foreign attacks to mobilize domestic citizens. Using two survey experiments about Chinese online propaganda and human rights violations, they find that while Beijing can use such strategies to mobilize domestic support against global shaming, it may come at the cost of further alienating international audiences. Villegas-Cruz examines whether digital diplomacy produced by foreign elites can shape public opinion in a target country. He focuses on how the effectiveness of online diplomacy depends on the type of message (friendly vs. assertive). Using a survey experiment, he finds that friendly digital diplomacy by Chinese foreign elites improves American attitudes about Beijing and U.S. policies toward China. Moreover, while assertive digital diplomacy harms public attitudes about China and their support for cooperative policies toward it, it makes people less likely to favor an active U.S. role in world affairs.

The final paper takes a closer look at the actual practice of online diplomacy by one of its biggest actors, namely China. While much of the extant digital diplomacy literature only focuses on diplomatic accounts, Keller extends our knowledge of PRC’s online communication strategies by identifying and analyzing all official Chinese Twitter accounts using a snowball-sampling approach. She finds that Beijing is using a complex network of genuine and fake supporters to amplify its voice abroad.

Sub Unit

• Division 20: Foreign Policy

Individual Presentations

• Mobilizing Online Backlash against Human Right Shaming: Evidence from China - Dongshu Liu, City University of Hong Kong; Claudia Junghyun Kim, City University of Hong Kong

• Technologies of Affect: Social Media & Domestic Constraints on Crisis Escalation - Fahd Humayun, Tufts University

• Images of Taiwan and Diplomatic Recognition of China - Michael J. Jensen, University of Canberra

• Wolf Warriors and Their Pups: The PR of China’s Presence on Twitter - Franziska Barbara Keller, University of Bern

• Friendly vs. Assertive Messages by Foreign Elites on Social Media - Angel Manuel Villegas Cruz, Pennsylvania State University

Chair

• Boliang Zhu Pennsylvania State University

Discussant

• Erin Baggott Carter University of Southern California