Social Media and Its Impact on International Relations

Social media and the internet have changed the way that information is disseminated to the public. Once upon a time, information was only accessible through the institutions of the State and the flow of information between governments and citizens tightly controlled. Since the internet we have seen this model turned on its head completely, as the costs of recording and distributing information dramatically dropped and the steady rise of citizen journalists, bloggers and online activists began. As the growing use of digital devices and social media platforms spilled over from the private to the public sector, the use of social media in aiding governments in achieving their policy goals both at home and abroad became a widely adopted strategy. International Relations as a discipline has only recently begun to engage with the growth of social media and its implications for global politics. But if the current climate is anything to go by, social media is well on the way to disrupting the traditional channels and methods of diplomacy. It is on the backdrop of this, that this study examines the role of social media in international relations