International cooperation has never been so crucial as in the struggle against coronavirus, but traditional diplomacy based on personal meetings has ground to a halt. That pushes E-diplomacy to the fore as the only alternative.
Those who have contracted coronavirus so far have a disproportionate tendency to be prominent politicians, for whom personal contact is like oxygen. This may have helped the rest of us: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s positive test cast him in the role of the canary in the coal mine, and made the risks of social contact graphically clear to the whole country.
Diplomacy must continue. But confinement now means that there is no other way to hold meetings than by teleconferencing, no way to discuss policy drafts other than electronically, no other solutions for international conferences and summits other than digital summits and webinars.
The confinement experience is likely to mean that the old ways based on personal contact will be seen as inherently fragile. Consider the roll call of the world’s failed states: Libya, Somalia and Syria all had extensive physical diplomatic representation abroad. Yet all have failed to function for extended periods.
E-diplomacy can be defined as the conduct of diplomacy through Information and communications technologies (ICTs). Even in normal times, it is a more open, inclusive and stable process than traditional methods based on established, but fluid, personal connections. It has a long history: the first online session in multilateral diplomacy was held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1963.
It’s no coincidence that small countries physically distant from direct diplomatic channels have some of the most sophisticated E-diplomacy capabilities. Such countries also have the need and the right to be heard. Estonia was a pioneer in using Blockchain technology to provide services to its population. E-diplomacy here is not about adding a few digital extras to an existing strategy, but about creating systems for survival.
In 2007, Estonia’s online systems came under an attack lasting 22 days, in what has been described as the world’s first cyber war. Government offices, banks, newspapers and broadcasters were unable to function, and rioting ensued.
Mindful of its continued vulnerability to external aggression, Estonia in 2017 created the world’s first data embassy, located in Luxembourg. This houses copies of the state’s most important data, and is designed to ensure that the state could keep functioning in the event of conventional or cyber attack, or natural disaster. Estonia retains jurisdiction over the data and Luxembourg has no access without permission.
In 2019, Estonia created a department for cyber diplomacy. Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, the country’s ambassador for cyber security, argues that there is no need to adapt international law for purposes of E-diplomacy, but simply to recognise that existing international law applies in cyberspace.
There are of course dangers: electronic media never forget the awkward, embarrassing moments that the human mind can choose to expunge. Personal diplomacy will never entirely lose its place: the bonds of trust forged by direct contact can’t be superseded by technology.
But in a world that can be taken over by germs from a bat, the need for diplomatic strategies which use the personal touch as complement rather than cornerstone is clear. This is especially the case in a time of crisis. More than ever we need to exchange information, reassure citizens abroad, stay connected and search for global solutions. We must not let terror close our borders, nor let countries close in on themselves. The time for E-diplomacy as the norm has finally come.
