The Rise of Twitter in India’s Public Diplomacy – 2014 to 2019

Joseph J Nalloor

doi:10.60867/00000099

The use of social media has helped governments reach large and global audiences including external, domestic and diaspora communities. Social media tools are now regarded as tactical tools while also playing a strategic communications role. By 2018, Twitter became the preferred platform for digital diplomacy with nearly 97% of all UN members on the platform, according to a study by communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) – this phenomenon led to the term Twiplomacy. In 2014, a new government was elected to power in India. There was a seminal shift in the adoption of Twitter with the newly incoming Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj becoming the world’s most followed female leader on the platform by 2016 with her unique and extensive use of Twitter. My thesis explores the rise of Twitter, and its significance in India’s Public Diplomacy between 2014 and 2019. I examine the relationship between public diplomacy and digital diplomacy, assessing the impact of Twitter within the Indian context. I examine how public diplomacy, a term used to describe efforts by nation states to create a favourable image among other nations using news and activities, transitioned to digital diplomacy with advancements in ICTs and social media. My study specifically sought to answer the following research questions: (1.) How did India adopt Twitter as a medium of public diplomacy? Was there a formal implementation strategy specially in the years 2014-2019, the period of the study? (2.) Has Twitter helped India as a communication tool during global crisis? If so, how and in what kind of situations? (3.) Did the use of Twitter make India’s diplomacy more transparent and humane by direct dialogue and communication with state and non-state actors? If so, how? This research is multi-disciplinary in nature as it straddles two main disciplines namely Media/Communication Studies and International Relations. The main concepts related to both fields that have been examined include soft power, public diplomacy, digital diplomacy, public sphere and Twitter as a social media platform and digital diplomacy tool. By examining the tweets of the Ministry of External Affairs, India and MEA Minister Sushma Swaraj between 2014 to 2019, five themes were identified and analysed: Communicating during Global Crisis, Direct People Connect (#SOS, Problem Solving and Diaspora), Call to Action, Humane Outreach to Foreigners, and Building Relations with State Actors. In-depth interviews with diplomats and a senior news editor helped explain how Twitter was adopted as a medium of public/digital diplomacy. The findings from the interviews were presented under nine categories: Why Twitter, Social Media Training and Guidelines for Indian Diplomats, A strategic Framework and Harmonization, Twitter Engagement and its Impact on Soft Power, Communication Goals, Two-way Dialogue and Democratization, Circumventing Traditional Media, Impact on The Diaspora Connect, Challenges of India’s Twitter and Digital Diplomacy, and Role of Minister Swaraj in Transforming Twitter as a Public Diplomacy Tool. Secondary research undertaken, which included news articles, press releases, government and industry reports, were used to support and add value to the findings. The findings from the analysis of tweets, interviews and secondary research show that the use of Twitter made India’s digital diplomacy more transparent and humane by promoting dialogical communication with audiences. The study uncovered the strategic efforts that contributed to India adopting Twitter as a medium of public diplomacy. The research, as evidenced in the detailed findings, also established how Twitter was an effective communications tool during global crisis. Overall, my thesis demonstrates the potential of Twitter (now X) and other social media platforms as an effective mode of digital diplomacy to reach and engage audiences if a more dialogic model is adopted.

The Rise of Twitter in India’s Public Diplomacy – 2014 to 2019

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