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Twitter diplomacy, or "Twiplomacy," is the use of social network and microblogging website, Twitter, by heads of state, leaders of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and their diplomats to conduct diplomatic outreach and public diplomacy.

A 2013 study by website Twiplomacy (@Twiplomacy) found that 153 of the 193 countries represented at the United Nations (@UN) had established government Twitter accounts. As of July 2013, also according to Twiplomacy, those accounts amounted to 505 Twitter handles used by world leaders and their foreign ministers, with their tweets able to reach a combined audience of over 106 million followers.

Twitter is gradually re-defining how governments outreach to foreign audiences. From cordial announcements of bi-lateral cooperation to terse exchanges and diplomatic jabs, the secretive world of international relations is increasingly played out via "hashtag diplomacy," 140 characters at a time.

Origins of Twitter diplomacy

Although the use of Twitter by world leader and diplomats is on the rise, Twitter diplomacy is only one aspect of the larger trend toward digital diplomacy, also known as eDiplomacy or Facebook diplomacy, by many of the world's governments.

Digital diplomacy

"My God, this is the end of diplomacy!" -Former British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, upon receiving his first telegraph in the 1840s

Changes to the media used to conduct diplomacy throughout history have followed developments in technology, and digital diplomacy is the latest development. Social media diplomacy helps create and maintain a conversation between policymakers and citizens, between diplomats and foreign publics. Though definitions vary, digital diplomacy is generally regarded as the use of the Internet and information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives.

The US Department of State (@StateDept) is widely credited as having established the first program dedicated to digital diplomacy with its 2003 founding of the Office of eDiplomacy. Other countries have followed suit, with heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, and government agencies now well-established throughout the most popular social media platforms.

Twitter and diplomacy

An estimated 241 million active users have joined Twitter since founder Jack Dorsey's (@jack) first tweet on March 26, 2006, making it an increasingly powerful tool for outreach. World leaders and their diplomats also took note of Twitter's rapid expansion, and now use it as a way to engage with foreign publics, as well as their own citizens. Twitter also offers policymakers the possibility to hear many different perspectives.

Commenting in a 2013 publication on the subject for the Geneva-based, non-profit Diplo, former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) said of Twitter diplomacy, “Social media exposes foreign policymakers to global audiences while at the same time allowing governments to reach them instantly... Twitter has two big positive effects on foreign policy: it fosters a beneficial exchange of ideas between policymakers and civil society and enhances diplomats’ ability to gather information and to anticipate, analyze, manage, and react to events.”

Another, less cheerful aspect of Twitter diplomacy is that diplomatic confrontations can now be held on a world stage. In April 2014, confrontations between the US State Department and the Russian Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@mfa_russia) over the 2014 Crimean crisis devolved into dueling tweets using the hashtag #UnitedforUkraine. Tweeting to a global audience can also be difficult, as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) learned in early 2014, when he deleted a controversial tweet that was likely intended for his domestic audience.

Studying Twitter diplomacy

A growing number of studies and publications are emerging on the topic, though the study of the subject is still in its infancy.

The most authoritative source on Twitter diplomacy to date is arguably website Twiplomacy. Twiplomacy is dedicated to the study of Twitter's use by world leaders, and is administered by public relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller (@B_M). The website also publishes the results of its annual country-by-country studies, now in their second year, and its 535-page "Twiplomacy: Heads of state and government on Twitter, July 2013" is now available online.

Italian Press and Public Affairs Officer Andreas Sandre (@andreas212nyc) authored a 2013 work for Geneva-based, non-profit Diplo, "Twitter for Diplomats," which chronicles the development of the subject concept and offers suggestions about its effective use.

Use by governments and intergovernmental organizations

Reference to Twiplomacy

By heads of state

US President Barack Obama (@BarackObama) is credited as being the first head of state to establish a Twitter account--though it was originally affiliated with his 2008 presidential campaign--on March 5, 2007 as user number 813,286. He is also handily the most popular head of state on Twitter: with over 42 million followers as of April 2014, he is the third most-followed person on Twitter behind pop stars Katy Perry (@katyperry) and Justin Bieber (@justinbieber).

Other heads of state to pioneer the conduct of Twitter diplomacy include Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN), Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo (@ElioDiRupo), and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (@PMHarper), all of whom joined Twitter in 2007.

By diplomats and diplomatic missions

The US State Department, despite its highly scripted foreign policy, is actually one of the world's leaders on Twitter. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (@HillaryClinton) and current Secretary John Kerry (@JohnKerry) both took to Twitter with personal handles, breaking free from the official State Department handle and encouraging other American diplomats to follow in turn. Former US ambassador to the Russian Federation, Michael McFaul (@McFaul), pioneered the use of Twitter for American ambassadors with a steady stream of English/Russian tweets during his 2011-2014 tenure. An academic by trade and not a career diplomat, Ambassador McFaul's tweets were generally blunt and un-polished--uncommon characteristics in the diplomatic world--earning both frequent criticism from the Russian government and praise from his supporters.

Notable use by civil society

Non-governmental organizations

Non-governmental organizations

Activist and opposition groups

Activist and opposition groups

Religious groups

The Pope is one of the most-followed world leaders; according to Twiplomacy's 2013 annual study, he's #something.

Academia

Think tanks