Dystopian Twiplomacy?

In the autumn of 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to invite President Barack Obama of the US to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2015. The US President was quick in accepting the invitation on Twitter. This was a sort of revolution in diplomatic communication long heralded by back channel negotiations. Close to two centuries ago when telegram was invented, the first telegraphic cable from British Ambassador to PM the British Prime Minister was known to have responded stating the diplomacy would never be the same again. PM Modi took again to Twitter in the end of 2015 o announce a surprise visit to Pakistan to greet its PM Nawaz Sharif on his birthday. Twitter diplomacy in the times of PM Modi took a new shape. Many of his communications with his counterparts often happen on Twitter.

The exchanges on Twitter between heads of governments and states are not just the changes that one is observing in the current world. As the social media expands its sphere, the diplomats are not immune from responding to public concerns and defending their country on the social media sphere. They have manifested in different forms. For instance, India opened up a completely new vista in its relationship with the residents settled abroad. Sushma Swaraj as External Affairs Minister was quick to reach out to Indians in distress abroad. Whether it was rescuing Indians from the Gulf, or stuck lost in visa in remote European country or in deserts of Africa, nothing was taboo for Sushma Swaraj when it came to addressing the Indian concerns. The humanitarian face of Indian diplomacy on social media through increased public engagement brought a hope for many an Indian when they find themselves in trouble abroad. The current incumbent, a long standing diplomat of considerable accomplishments himself has used social media very effectively in his interactions with his counterparts abroad.

As the diplomatic communications traverse into a new space, there is an interesting piece of thoughts put forth by Syed Akbaruddin for long the public face of Indian diplomacy if one might term it so. His thoughts are available here. He charts the journey of the Indian presence in the social media. The fact that social media has expanded and Twitter in particular has emerged as the platform for political conversations as opposed to Facebook for social and Linkedin for professional networking. While the presence was initially slow, it has been quick to build up into a strong footing on the global public sphere. The interactions of the Prime Minister has catalysed the Indian face of social media diplomacy. Moreover, the presence of embassies and high commissions on Twitter have strengthened the presence of Indian digital footprint. The visible improvement in consular and passport services with increased sensitivity to the needs of Indians abroad have been made possible through the expansion of the digital footprint. Syed Akbaruddin terms the phenomenon as immersive social media engagement something mastered quite well by the Indian diplomatic community. Moreover, he argues, given the following the political leadership commands, foreign policy positions are being disseminated to a critical mass of wider sections of the society. It has served well the demystification of Indian diplomacy in the last decade or so.

However, social media engagements seemingly are accompanied by dystopian tendencies. While there are no doubts positives, the negatives too abound. Social media, as one would be aware, is not the preserve of the nation states. It is the proliferation of the individuals, the non-state actors that pervade the social media platforms. History is abound with instances of propaganda warfare across countries. US used radio with good effect in propagating its ideals to those in the Soviet sphere. Radio broadcasts inciting rebellions were pretty common through the Cold War. Success too was evident on quite a few occasions. As Akbaruddin puts it, in the battle to win converts for the state’s cause, there would emerge fire-fights on digital platforms something that even the Indian diplomats found themselves involved on quite a few occasions. Those sparring encounters do bring another dimension to the practices of communication through social media platforms.

Akbaruddin posits that the concerns of diplomatic establishments are not the key issues that dominate the conversation on Twitter. At the heart of the social media engagements lie the individual as noted before. It is therefore not something of a surprise that the shield of rules and procedures, to use the words of Akbaruddin, that the diplomats are schooled in are something not available on the social media platforms. The public conversation sphere is ruled by a different set of rubrics altogether. Boundaries have little meaning in the virtual world relative to the brick and mortar world thereby necessitating altered subtleties for ambassadorial engagements on this new medium. Diplomatic red lines which existed are getting blurred. In the networked public sphere, private matters are something an aberration. It is public by default. To Akbaruddin, the framework under which the diplomats function on the social media are analogous to pursuing national interests without the protective cover of diplomatic immunity.

Akbaruddin further points out that for long, Indian diplomacy has been couched in the terms of quiet diplomacy, low key efforts, considered responses, discreet enquiries among others. These jargons have often defined the contours of Indian foreign policy. As Akbaruddin points out, these have acquired different meanings in the current public engagement. He of course posits that the Indian diplomats have mastered the art of the new age diplomacy with aplomb and finesse. These are the skills which are not taught but acquired with time and experience albeit with some professional guidance and support.

Akbaruddin contends that there seems to be no way back to the traditional models. the rubicon has been crossed so as to speak. Despite the possibility of Twitter getting banned or highly regulated given its sparring with Indian regulations, the social media platforms are here to stay. There is no unidirectional flow of conversation. The flow is bidirectional. It seems the vertical hierarchy of information has been replaced by the horizontal hyperarchy of information production and exchange. It is one thing to manage diplomatic storms offline while another thing to manage online. Yet, as the India’s highly accomplished diplomat puts it, there is no going back. India has to adapt and has adapted very well.