Dialogic Communication in Digital Diplomacy: A Case Study on The Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest
(2022) SKOM12 20221Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- The number of diplomatic actors that use social media platforms to communicate with the publics has increased in the past years. Yet, these communicative approaches are still poorly researched. Moreover, the few studies from diplomacy and the ones from communication that explore two-way communication on social media present contradictions. If scholars from diplomacy present dialogue as a taken for granted characteristic of diplomacy that makes use of social media tools, scholars from communication say that social media is not yet used at its dialogic potential. Using as an empirical case The Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest, the thesis investigates if and how the institution created opportunities for dialogic engagement on Facebook with its... (More)
- The number of diplomatic actors that use social media platforms to communicate with the publics has increased in the past years. Yet, these communicative approaches are still poorly researched. Moreover, the few studies from diplomacy and the ones from communication that explore two-way communication on social media present contradictions. If scholars from diplomacy present dialogue as a taken for granted characteristic of diplomacy that makes use of social media tools, scholars from communication say that social media is not yet used at its dialogic potential. Using as an empirical case The Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest, the thesis investigates if and how the institution created opportunities for dialogic engagement on Facebook with its followers from 2018 to 2021. In pursuit of this goal, it uses as theoretical lens dialogic engagement principles. The case study is qualitative and uses two types of data - Facebook content and interviews with communicators of the embassy. Findings indicate that the embassy does create dialogic engagement opportunities and has an overall dialogic-oriented behavior. They reinforce the idea that social media as a dialogic tool is not problematic, but that it is the practitioners who decide how this tool is going to be used. Furthermore, the political and cultural aspects of the environment are vital for creating and fostering opportunities for dialogue. Key findings also show that a focus on research, listening, and tools such as strategic humour, self-irony, personalization, and networking are valuable. Besides them, instruments provided by these new media platforms such as memes or GIFs are important, if they suit the profile of the audiences. Having consideration for the needs of the public plays an essential role in dialogic communication, and a focus on the common good of society is essential. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9084888
- author
- Creanga, Aryna-Alexandra LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKOM12 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- strategic communication, digital diplomacy, social media, dialogue, dialogic engagement, Facebook diplomacy
- language
- English
- id
- 9084888
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-27 14:28:41
- date last changed
- 2022-06-27 14:28:41
@misc{9084888,
abstract = {{The number of diplomatic actors that use social media platforms to communicate with the publics has increased in the past years. Yet, these communicative approaches are still poorly researched. Moreover, the few studies from diplomacy and the ones from communication that explore two-way communication on social media present contradictions. If scholars from diplomacy present dialogue as a taken for granted characteristic of diplomacy that makes use of social media tools, scholars from communication say that social media is not yet used at its dialogic potential. Using as an empirical case The Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest, the thesis investigates if and how the institution created opportunities for dialogic engagement on Facebook with its followers from 2018 to 2021. In pursuit of this goal, it uses as theoretical lens dialogic engagement principles. The case study is qualitative and uses two types of data - Facebook content and interviews with communicators of the embassy. Findings indicate that the embassy does create dialogic engagement opportunities and has an overall dialogic-oriented behavior. They reinforce the idea that social media as a dialogic tool is not problematic, but that it is the practitioners who decide how this tool is going to be used. Furthermore, the political and cultural aspects of the environment are vital for creating and fostering opportunities for dialogue. Key findings also show that a focus on research, listening, and tools such as strategic humour, self-irony, personalization, and networking are valuable. Besides them, instruments provided by these new media platforms such as memes or GIFs are important, if they suit the profile of the audiences. Having consideration for the needs of the public plays an essential role in dialogic communication, and a focus on the common good of society is essential.}},
author = {{Creanga, Aryna-Alexandra}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Dialogic Communication in Digital Diplomacy: A Case Study on The Embassy of Sweden in Bucharest}},
year = {{2022}},
}