e-Diplomacy as International Practice

Despite the significant changes in communication and transportation that globalization has brought to the world, the structure of international politics and diplomacy has, in many ways, remained unchanged. Today’s leaders and diplomats travel the globe to meet personally with friends and adversaries just as their counterparts in the 14th and 15th centuries did. Teleconferencing and internet communication technologies (ICTs) have fundamentally changed the way that business and other types of social interaction are conducted, yet the basic process of negotiating while looking the other in the eye continues to dominate diplomacy efforts, both bilaterally and multilaterally. With the advent of these new communication tools, some have questioned whether these tête-à-têtes are necessary. Consider the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Political pundits astutely observed the irony in negotiators traveling thousands of miles in high-emissions aircraft in order to discuss how best to reduce overall emissions. Similar criticisms have been levied at other multilateral conferences, such as the G-20 Summit. Critics of the 2010 Toronto conference asked whether it was wise for statesmen and women to engage in costly extravagant meetings at a time of global recession. These concerns are important and go beyond partisan rankle. They speak to a number of salient theoretical and policy questions, such as what is the role of traditional diplomacy and can technology replace it? Do new technologies fundamentally change diplomacy? This paper investigates e-Diplomacy as international practice. Invoking the familiar framework put forth by Adler and Pouliot, I suggest that e-Diplomacy is actually an autonomous and important practice of managing change in the international system. Ultimately e-Diplomacy has the ability to both strengthen and change the structure of relations between permanent representatives, home offices, and other actors.