Changing the habits of information consumption and the presence of digital communication in society necessitates also the national diplomatic services to adapt to the new challenges and use of digital communication channels. The aim of the study is to find out the development of the implementation of digital diplomacy tools in the diplomatic service of Latvia and the influence of institutional factors in the mentioned processes.Study of publicly available documents regulating the communications process were carried out and direct interviews with the management of the MFA Communication Directorate were executed.According to the study findings, digital diplomacy is regulated by the general procedures of public administration as well as the MFA Communication Strategy, which establishes the general principles of communication and relationship building with stakeholders.MFA is aware of the importance of digital diplomacy and the need to develop this direction, but more exigent activity is limited because of other diplomatic service priorities. The limited institutional capacity and the available financial and human resources limit the implementation of these processes in a short time period, thus possibly losing the competition to the countries with similar historical, political and socio-economic level of development in the battlefield of public diplomacy.

Publiskā diplomātija ieņem aizvien nozīmīgāku lomu pasaules valstu ārpolitikā. Informācijas tehnoloģiju attīstība un sociālo tīklu popularitātes straujais pieaugums liek diplomātiem izmantot modernos informācijas kanālus publiskās diplomātijas un ārpolitikas mērķu sasniegšanai. Sociālo tīklu izmantošanas efektivitāti iespējams izmērīt, noskaidrojot diplomātu spēju veidot vēlamo dienaskārtību digitālajā vidē, kas arī ir šī raksta mērķis. Publikācijā aplūkota Latvijas Ārlietu ministrijas spēja veidot digitālo dienaskārtību publiskās diplomātijas laukā. Šī publikācija ir plašāka pētījuma sastāvdaļa, kura ietvaros tika analizēti trīs Baltijas valstu Ārlietu ministriju oficiālo Facebook kontu ieraksti 2019. gadā. Pielietojot Oksfordas Universitātes digitālās diplomātijas pētnieku izstrādāto metodoloģiju, tika analizēts, kādas ir katras valsts publiskās diplomātijas prioritātes digitālajā vidē, kā arī publikas reakcijas un iesaistes apjoms, reaģējot uz šīm prioritātēm. Pētījuma rezultāts ļāva pierādīt, ka Latvijas Ārlietu ministrija spēj veidot digitālo dienaskārtību, un vienlaikus rosināja diskusiju, kā arī izgaismoja jaunus aspektus digitālās diplomātijas pētniecības laukā. Public diplomacy plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policy of countries around the world. The development of information technologies and the rapid rise in the popularity of social networks motivate diplomats to use modern information channels to achieve public diplomacy and foreign policy objectives. The effectiveness of the use of social networks can be measured by clarifying the ability of diplomats to set the desired agenda in the digital environment, which is also the aim of this study. This article looks at digital agenda setting ability of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia in the field of public diplomacy. It is a part of a broader study where the posts on official Facebook accounts of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States in 2019 were specifically analysed. The methodology developed by the researchers of digital diplomacy at Oxford University was used to analyse the priorities of each country’s public diplomacy in the digital environment and the extent of public response and engagement in response to these priorities. The results of the study demonstrated the digital agenda setting ability of MFA of Latvia, while encouraging discussion and highlighting new aspects in the field of research of digital diplomacy.