Social media has become an integral component of public agencies and digital diplomacy. Prior scholars have emphasised the significance of social media in International relations (IR), discussing...Show moreSocial media has become an integral component of public agencies and digital diplomacy. Prior scholars have emphasised the significance of social media in International relations (IR), discussing its advantages and difficulties. Nevertheless, in terms of public administration, there is a gap in their management, namely, in understanding how to use different platforms and the significance of social media content in engaging with the public. This research delves into the field of digital Diplomacy, examining the strategic use of social media content by the European Union’s diplomatic missions based in Athens, focusing on engagement with the public. The mixed-method study examined how diplomatic missions use social media content to engage with the public by analyzing original posts on Twitter/X and Facebook and conducting semi-structured interviews with experts and diplomats from EU Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) and embassies. The findings revealed that the EU embassies tend to employ posts that promote the countries’ image and interests’ indicators of Symbolic representation. In addition,they demonstrate a preference for Transparency by regularly sharing content that aligns with the policies, daily agenda and activity of the MFAs or embassies. The analysis using the Engagement Index (EI) results is noteworthy as it signifies an enhanced public connection with Coproduction content. Finally, the study reveals the strategic use of the platforms and the content for effective public engagement. Future researchers can delve into new directions by exploring other platforms or focusing on public reaction via sentimental analysis. In summary, this research emphasizes the importance of social media in diplomatic missions' external communication and advances the field by implementing the framework in digital diplomacy, particularly in the EU.Show less
Since the so-called migration crisis of 2015/2016, European governments have innovated in their migration management policies leading to the adoption of a new dissemination channel for Migration...Show moreSince the so-called migration crisis of 2015/2016, European governments have innovated in their migration management policies leading to the adoption of a new dissemination channel for Migration-Information Campaigns (MICs) which is social media. The literature shows that social media properties can significantly influence government digital communication including MICs. Nevertheless, social media adoption for MICs broadcasting and social media features’ impacts are two academically underexplored phenomena. Consequently, this thesis attempts to answer the following question: “How do social media properties impact the establishment and management of digital Migration-Information Campaigns run by public administrations?” where the properties are conceptualized into six affordances: visibility, communicability, interactivity, anonymity, persistence and editability. To do so, we carried out a qualitative and exploratory multiple-case research based on semi-structured interviews with European public servants and partner organizations involved in MICs development. The results of this research suggest that the distinct affordances of social media do have significant influences on MICs formulation and management depending on how they are perceived in terms of opportunities and constraints of actions. Some additional insights on safety matters, attaining the right audience and paid advertising use were brought up through multiple affordances. The findings invite policymakers to create proper social media guidelines for MICs, allocate adequate resources and re-evaluate their MICs for several improvements.Show less
Crowdsourcing has gained attention in every realm, including the public sector, which got interested in how the participatory tool can increase public values, especially with the interactive...Show moreCrowdsourcing has gained attention in every realm, including the public sector, which got interested in how the participatory tool can increase public values, especially with the interactive potential of digital platforms. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of implementing the crowdsourcing process, but not much focus is on the outcomes. Moreover, with the increase in evidence-based policymaking, a few studies have been conducted on the impact of crowdsourcing data. This thesis intends to answer the question of how crowdsourcing outcomes can impact decision-making. The case of Frena La Curva (FLC) in Spain during Covid- 19 was studied, which has positively impacted the policy-making process. The approach of this thesis is qualitative, using semi-structured interviews to delve into the experiences of public employees and volunteers involved in the platform. The results show benefits for the public administration in implementing crowdsourcing. The significant benefits that crowdsourcing can apport to the decision- making process are the openness of participation, speedy action by the public administration, and the re- calibration of the policy tools. The technological infrastructure of FLC has allowed to gather an enormous number of outcomes which allowed policymakers to make swifter decisions in some cases. However, the technological dependency on crowdsourcing represents a challenge for the public sector, which might want to cooperate with the private sector. Moreover, depending on the nature of the evidence, crowdsourcing can have a different impact on tool calibration and tool changes in the policy process. The situation of the crisis has also had an effect on the emergence of FLC, which was favored by the pandemic. The contribution of this study is essential as it sparks light on a field that has been investigated less. Further research may investigate the replicability of the case of FLC as well as test the impact of outcomes in other crowdsourcing initiatives.Show less
In every democratic country in the world, elections are a very common occurrence. In modern times, the electoral systems change too, resulting in the emergence of electronic voting. This research...Show moreIn every democratic country in the world, elections are a very common occurrence. In modern times, the electoral systems change too, resulting in the emergence of electronic voting. This research distinguishes voting on voting machines and Internet voting and compares the cases of the Netherlands, Belgium and Estonia to understand the most important factors to drive implementation of digital voting initiatives. The technological aspects of this have been researched enough by other authors, so this research focusses on the success factors generated by the Enacting Electronic Government Success (EEGS) framework. To place it in a historical perspective, the Historical Institutionalist view is added. The unique contribution of this research is to derive success factors of digital voting from the perspective of frameworks closely related to e-Governance, that have not yet researched digital voting.Show less
Governments are increasingly relying on automated systems to keep citizen administrations, determine welfare eligibility. The growing use of algorithms in decision-making has sparked worries about...Show moreGovernments are increasingly relying on automated systems to keep citizen administrations, determine welfare eligibility. The growing use of algorithms in decision-making has sparked worries about how these systems may affect individuals' faith in public institutions. It is suggested that algrotihmic transparency and accountability are core elements in shaping this relationship. This study sought to uncover these effects on citizen trust. Through a linear regression analysis, this study examined the influence of comprehensibility, explainability and enforcement and responsiveness on citizen trust. The results suggested significant direct effects of comprehensibility and responsiveness. Furthermore, it was uncovered that ‘trust in government’ fully mediates the relationship between explainability and responsiveness with trust in government. The findings of this study have implications on how governments might design and implement algorithmic decision making systems and retain public support.Show less
