Global Digital Governance EU Digital Diplomacy: A Regulatory Approach

Digital transformation has significantly impacted societies, diplomacy, and international relations. In today’s geopolitically volatile environment, power struggles are intensifying with the emergence of digital empires (big tech) and foreign actors that manipulate the democracies, necessitating a more nuanced approach to address global challenges within the current global order. This thesis argues that there is a gap in International Relations (IR) and asserts that European Union (EU) digital diplomacy challenges traditional understandings of the concept.The conventional view of digital diplomacy, predominantly based on the United States (US) experience of the digitalization of public diplomacy, restricts scholars from exploring alternative approaches. Therefore, this study adopts a comparative perspective to analyze the distinct components of US digital diplomacy and EU digital diplomacy. Moreover, the global digital governance framework helps better understand the EU’s regulatory...Show moreDigital transformation has significantly impacted societies, diplomacy, and international relations. In today’s geopolitically volatile environment, power struggles are intensifying with the emergence of digital empires (big tech) and foreign actors that manipulate the democracies, necessitating a more nuanced approach to address global challenges within the current global order. This thesis argues that there is a gap in International Relations (IR) and asserts that European Union (EU) digital diplomacy challenges traditional understandings of the concept.The conventional view of digital diplomacy, predominantly based on the United States (US) experience of the digitalization of public diplomacy, restricts scholars from exploring alternative approaches. Therefore, this study adopts a comparative perspective to analyze the distinct components of US digital diplomacy and EU digital diplomacy. Moreover, the global digital governance framework helps better understand the EU’s regulatory approach in digital diplomacy and the broader implications of current power battles from global digital hegemony competitions to strategic narrative building. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to the debate on this topic and emphasize that there is room to explore in future scholarly endeavors.Show less

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Global Digital Governance EU Digital Diplomacy: A Regulatory Approach