Domestic Digital Diplomacy: Digital Disruption at the Macro and Micro Levels

Abstract

Studies examining the digital disruption of diplomacy focus on the micro level of diplomats’ working routines. This article investigates the new practice of ‘domestic digital diplomacy’ to explore interactions between micro- and macro-level disruptions. The practice of domestic digital diplomacy stems from the digital disruption of government ministries that embrace an outward-looking stance. Domestic digital diplomacy also impacts society as diplomats create a prism through which citizens can make sense of their world. Few studies have investigated how ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) create such a domestic prism. This study addresses this gap by analysing the images shared on Twitter by the British Foreign Office following Brexit. Using Barthes’s semiotic approach to image analysis, this study demonstrates that MFAs can use images to shape their citizens’ worldviews, values and beliefs. The study concludes that investigating digital disruption in diplomacy requires that scholars focus on interactions between micro- and macro-level disruptions.