Kalin Kalinov
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
E-mail: kkalinov@uni-sofia.bg
Abstract: Digital diplomacy is a phenomenon of growing influence in recent years due to a number of reasons, including the fast technological advancements and the rise of social networking. As a result of this process, diplomacy practitioners and their institutions are presented with a new range of opportunities and challenges. This process is particularly crucial to large multinational organizations that were experiencing difficulties in coordinating their public diplomacy efforts even in the “pre-digital” age. The article is an attempt to describe the field of digital diplomacy in Bulgarian. The aim is to present a theoretical review, which could serve as a basis for future empirical studies in the area. Several key tendencies are outlined within the publication, including the increasing speed of the communication flow, the destruction of the hierarchical communication model, the changes in the power configurations and the fluid concept of external and internal audiences.
Keywords: public diplomacy, digital diplomacy, theoretical review, digital public diplomacy, digitalization, specifics
Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 49, October 2021