Never before has diplomacy evolved at such a rapid pace. It is being
transformed into a global participatory process by new media tools and
newly empowered publics. 'Public diplomacy' has taken center-stage as
diplomats strive to reach and influence audiences that are better
informed and more assertive than any in the past.
In this crisp and insightful analysis, Philip Seib, one of the world's
top experts on media and foreign policy, explores the future of
diplomacy in our hyper-connected world. He shows how the focus of
diplomatic practice has shifted away from the closed-door, top-level
negotiations of the past. Today's diplomats are obliged to respond
instantly to the latest crisis fueled by a YouTube video or Facebook
post. This has given rise to a more open and reactive approach to global
problem-solving with consequences that are difficult to predict. Drawing
on examples from the Iran nuclear negotiations to the humanitarian
crisis in Syria, Seib argues persuasively for this new versatile and
flexible public-facing diplomacy; one that makes strategic use of both
new media and traditional diplomatic processes to manage the
increasingly complex relations between states and new non-state
political actors in the 21st Century
