Routledge Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism: The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy (Routledge New Diplomacy Studies)

Exploring the ‘dark side’ of digital diplomacy, this volume highlights some of the major problems facing democratic institutions in the West and provides concrete examples of best practice in reversing the tide of digital propaganda. Digital diplomacy is now part of the regular conduct of International Relations, but Information Warfare is characterised by the exploitation or weaponisation of media systems to undermine confidence in institutions: the resilience of open, democratic discourse is tested by techniques such as propaganda, disinformation, fake news, trolling and conspiracy theories. This book introduces a thematic framework by which to better understand the nature and scope of the threats that the weaponization of digital technologies increasingly pose to Western societies. The editors instigate interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration between scholars and practitioners on the purpose, methods and impact of strategic communication in the Digital Age and its diplomatic implications. What opportunities and challenges does strategic communication face in the digital context? What diplomatic implications need to be considered when governments employ strategies for countering disinformation and propaganda? Exploring such issues, the contributors demonstrate that responses to the weaponisation of digital technologies must be tailored to the political context that make it possible for digital propaganda to reach and influence vulnerable publics and audiences. This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy studies, counter-radicalisation, media and communication studies, and International Relations in general. Review 'Disinformation is a plague that resists efforts to eradicate it. Truth – a foundation of democratic discourse – is its principal victim. Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism presents thoughtful and comprehensive analyses of this phenomenon written by an all-star, multidisciplinary roster of experts. For anyone who is teaching courses about these matters or is just personally committed to preserving open and free debate about important issues, this book is essential reading.'-- Philip Seib, University of Southern California, USA ‘I highly recommend reading this book, if you want to know more about the dark side of digital diplomacy. The authors reveal how the use of digital technologies as disinformation and propaganda tools has started to threaten the global order. The book is a page-turner.'--Matti Saarelainen, Director of The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, Helsinki, Finland 'Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism is a remarkably prescient and prodigious interdisciplinary volume situating the catalytic challenge of disinformation – including its sources, its drivers, and its consequences – within a succinct conceptual framework that researchers, practitioners, and students will find tremendously useful. It weaves together policy and research expertise to tackle some remarkably thorny questions, ranging from attribution and deterrence, the line between public diplomacy and propaganda, the dark side of digital diplomacy to the value and character of moral authority in this space. The book has lasting power and will certainly serve as a cardinal text for all those interested in understanding, studying, and addressing the internecine threat disinformation presents to our democratic institutions.'-- Shawn Powers, Senior Advisor, Global Strategy & Innovation, US Agency for Global Media About the Author Corneliu Bjola is Associate Professor in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford and Chair of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group. James Pamment is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Strategic Communication at Lund University, Sweden, and an external faculty member at the University of Southern California (USC) Center on Public Diplomacy.