Paper Example on European External Action Service

The EEAS puts digital diplomacy at the core of its foreign policy strategy given the necessity to communicate and inform clearly EU and non-EU audiences on EU foreign policy activities and operations. Generally, this is executed through its Strategic Communication Division and its Press and Media online section; furthermore, the EEAS possesses accounts on a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter just to mention two, but this is case also for the European Commission, which has even developed staff regulations on the use of social media (European Commission, 2014), and the European Parliament.

1. Introduction

Twitter has proven to be a revolutionary social network even in politics. It is an extraordinary channel of diplomacy and of communication. Thats why with Michael Mann and the Strategic Communications Division, we have been working, since the very beginning of my mandate, on making Twitter one of the fundamental tools of our diplomacy.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission, April 2015.

In the age of information technology and constant electronic-based interaction, digital tools have become widely used not only by individuals but also by states and international actors to communicate and deliver messages to audiences across the globe. Through real-time information exchange, interaction and engagement with the public, digital diplomacy through the use of social media has entailed a significant shift in diplomatic practices as a whole. Public diplomacy, understood as an international actors attempt to manage the international environment by engaging with the foreign public (Cull, 2009), is no exception to this transformation. Digitalisation and social media have therefore permeated the way states and actors interact with one another as well as with public audiences; such shift in the practice of public diplomacy, that is digital diplomacy, is among the key features of what Melissen defines as the new public diplomacy (Melissen, 2005). Thus, digital diplomacy ultimately constitutes a key tool for foreign policy effectiveness.

In the era of the so called network society coined by social theorist Georg Simmel in 1981 and generated by the development of digital communication, public diplomacy adopts digital practices in order to reach the targeted audiences and, ultimately, pursue its diplomatic goals and promote its interests. Digital diplomacy and the use of social media as communication tools have gained further relevance following the burst of the Arab Spring revolts that spread throughout the Middle East, in which individuals from all interested Arab countries could post images and videos about what was happening on the ground. Given its soft-power nature, digital diplomacy has since its advent recognized as extremely important for EU foreign policy. David Tunney, Head of Social Media for the EEAS, stresses the importance of digital communication and social media in todays EU foreign policy:

Traditional diplomacy is being transformed by social media and online communication. Technology is being used for sharing and gathering information and other tools relevant to diplomacy. Social media can play a powerful role in this emerging digital diplomacy by promoting the EUs core values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and international cooperation. The European External Action Service (EEAS) has therefore made a strategic choice to use social media as a diplomatic digital tool for external communication, dialogue and political engagement. (EEAS, 2014)

In a multi-layered and complex structure of governance and policy-making such as the EU, it becomes however vital that foreign policy messages and communication are delivered in a coherent manner, ensuring effective foreign policy outputs. This becomes even more challenging in the context of EU foreign policy, where supranational and intergovernmental spheres coexist and different actors are involved. Coherence has indeed become a priority for EU foreign policy since the first European Security Strategy (EES) was launched in 2003, formulated by at-the-time EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Javier Solana; the EES document outlined shared foreign policy priorities and objectives, among which the necessity of more coherence (EES, 2003). Since then, coherence has progressively become EU foreign policys leitmotif. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the European Union accorded further importance to the concepts of coherence and consistency in EU foreign policy, along with a restructuring its foreign policy apparatus and the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) following the Council Decision of July 2010, which would assist the newly appointed figure of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission (HR/VP) (EEAS, 2010). All of this was set with the intent of reinforcing the coherence and consistency of EU foreign policy, ultimately strengthening its role as an international actor in the world.

In 2011, civilian war burst in Syrian leading to the killing of hundreds of civilians and peaceful protesters against Bashar Al-Assads regime. The dramatic events that unfolded shook the international community and touched upon EUs core values such as human rights, civilian protection and freedom. As the world could witness the gravity of the situation in Syria via the social media, a coherent and uniform EU response was expected, given also the proximity with the country within its immediate European neighbourhood. Albeit the EU reacted to the crisis by suspending its cooperation with the Syrian Government under the European Neighbourhood Policy while adopting gradual restrictive measures (EEAS, 2017) in May 2011, while EU leaders and officials denounced the facts on social media, the EU was criticized for lacking a concerted response to the Syrian crisis. Strong critiques were moreover raised when such response was delivered in via social media such as Twitter, in which the same EU and its involved figures appeared to be communicating rather mixed messages, failing to deliver a true coherent foreign policy response. What was in fact EUs response via social media to the Syrian crisis, and to what extent was it coherent or incoherent at the horizontal level?

At a time where diplomacy via social media has become a daily practice, it becomes important to analyse whether the EU has reacted as a horizontally coherent foreign policy actor via social media diplomacy in the case of an important crisis such as the Syrian civil war. In fact, while there exist a substantial amount of literature on coherence in EU foreign policy, coherence in EU digital diplomacy is still an unexplored topic. Such question is particularly relevant for two reasons: first of all, it aims to further explore the concept of coherence in EU foreign policy, given the renewed focus and importance following the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty. Secondly, at a time where digital diplomacy has taken a central role in diplomatic practice and foreign policy strategy, by assessing it and measuring it via social media diplomacy this research aims to provide new insights on these digital tools as potential sources of coherence. To sum it up, the purpose of this study is to shed a light on the study on coherence and digital diplomacy within the broader realm of foreign policy, while contributing to the wider academic discussion on EUs role as an international actor.

The following research question is at the heart of this study:

How horizontally coherent has EU diplomacy through social media been in the case of the Syrian crisis?

The research question will be moreover answered through answering the following sub-research questions:

At the horizontal level, to what degree are the EU actors involved in foreign policy issues?

In conducting digital diplomacy via social media, how are these EU actors interrelated and how to they interact with one another?

In their messages delivered through social media platforms (Twitter), what topics, ideas and discourses are prevalent in relation to the social context?

The study will be structured in the next pages as follows: the next section will provide a literature review of the theoretical concept...