The digital storytelling of feminist foreign policy: Sweden’s state feminism in digital diplomacy

Rosamond, Annika Bergman; Hedling, Elsa

doi:10.1332/251510821x16523466058289

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Thus, it could be seen as a response to an ongoing global human and especially women's rights crisis, understood in broader terms as a systematic subordination of women and girls. The feminist foreign policy was part of Sweden's overall branding as a feminist nation at the time (see Bergman Rosamond & Hedling, 2022) and an example of how gender-friendly norms could act as an "identity marker," describing who a country is and "how it intends to conduct itself in the world" (Lee-Koo, 2020, p. 240). Sweden thus exemplified a small country striving to make its voice heard by carving out a reputational niche (Jansen, 2008;van Ham, 2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimating Policy Branding: Constructing “Sellability” of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Karlsson

2024

MaC

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This article examines how foreign policy branding is legitimated as a response to human rights crises. Drawing on legitimation theory (van Leeuwen, 2007), this study takes a discourse perspective with a focus on the enactment of foreign policy in communication and argues that legitimacy is the foundation for constructing a convincing and credible image of a country and its foreign policy. Building on the example of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy and an analysis of relevant policy documents, three themes were formulated. These illustrate that Sweden’s feminist foreign policy branding was legitimated by framing the policy as a form of “good” activism, creating a knowledge brand of the policy, and aligning the policy branding with established discourses of solidarity. Thus, the study suggests that a branding logic imposed by the attention economy leads foreign policy communication to focus on constructing “sellability” of foreign policy, legitimating it in ways that make it relatable to wider publics. This article contributes to foreign policy communication research through the conceptual development of foreign policy branding.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimating Policy Branding: Constructing “Sellability” of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Karlsson

2024

MaC

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“…The use of social media for spreading government strategic policies has been studied by scholars in various countries. A study by Rosamond and Hedling (2022) highlights State feminism and digital diplomacy, exploring Sweden's feminist foreign policy by utilizing digital storytelling. This paper found that, among others, feminist foreign policy digital storytelling enables the government, in this context the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, to connect with digital audiences, by using success stories.…”

Section: Methods and Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Foreign Policy, Public Diplomacy, and Social Media

Intentilia

2023

NSJIS

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This paper observes the practice of Indonesian Missions abroad in conducting public diplomacy via social media. The research question is how do the Indonesian Missions abroad utilize social media to connect with the public and to support Indonesia’s foreign policies? This paper uses a descriptive qualitative method with primary and secondary data. Primary data are gathered by observing @indonesiainjeddah and @desrapercaya on Instagram. Secondary data are compiled by using literature studies of articles from reputable journals. There are three main findings of this paper. Firstly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia emphasizes the importance of digital technology for diplomacy, proven by the Social Media Awards to appreciate the efforts in disseminating Indonesia’s foreign policy overseas. Secondly, the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah, @indonesiainjeddah, has utilized social media account to disseminate Indonesia’s foreign policy, covering economic and health diplomacy, diplomacy for citizens’ protection, and Indonesia’s G20 Presidency. Thirdly, Ambassador Desra Percaya, @desrapercaya, has contributed to disseminating the foreign policy of Indonesia in the context of economic diplomacy, sports diplomacy, and the regional issue of ASEAN, with the additional element of cultural diplomacy. These findings confirm that Indonesia’s public diplomacy can be conducted using social media, to further promote Indonesia’s foreign policy.

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“…The gradual digitalisation of diplomacy has led practices of communication and representation on social media to become expected of diplomats as part of the job. In addition to managing the emotions of others in their offline relations, diplomats must project a version of the self online, that depend on new norms of emotion-laden discourse and visual representations (Bergman Rosamond and Hedling 2022). Social media and the specific socio-political affordances they offer, have greatly contributed to the commodification of emotions in political communication (Stark, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional labour in digital diplomacy: perceptions and challenges for European diplomats

Hedling

2023

Emotions and Society

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Social media are increasingly important tools in diplomacy. Diplomats are expected to use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to communicate with each other and with both the domestic and international publics. This form of communication involves displaying positive emotions to generate attention in a competitive information environment. Emotions are essential to managing perceptions, conveying signals and safeguarding state reputations in traditional diplomacy. Commercial demands of online performance, however, activate new dimensions and challenges in the management of emotions in diplomacy. As digital disinformation and populist campaigns have transgressed the boundaries of domestic public debate, diplomats must also display emotional restraint to contain and counter such influence. This article analyses how diplomats perceive the demands of digital diplomacy and how emotions are engaged in their efforts to perform competently both online and offline. The study draws on fieldwork and interviews with 13 European diplomats as well as document analysis of handbooks and training material used to transfer ‘emotional communication skills’ to diplomats. The study findings suggest that the demands of digital diplomacy are challenging traditional enactments of ‘the good diplomat’. In addition to the tensions between outreach and countering communication practices, the emotional labour in digital diplomacy extends beyond what we see on social media. Diplomats perceive the expectations of constant performance online to at times conflict with their professional role offline.

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The digital storytelling of feminist foreign policy: Sweden’s state feminism in digital diplomacy

Cited by 12 publications

References 34 publications

Legitimating Policy Branding: Constructing “Sellability” of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Legitimating Policy Branding: Constructing “Sellability” of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy, Public Diplomacy, and Social Media

Emotional labour in digital diplomacy: perceptions and challenges for European diplomats

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