STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: A CASE STUDY OF U.S., UK, AND CHINA DIPLOMATS IN KENYA

This article investigates the strategies and challenges adopted by diplomats in the conduct of digital diplomacy. Digital diplomacy is the use of various new technologies in diplomacy communication and performance to win the hearts and minds of foreign nationals. This study interviewed diplomats and experts from the three embassies and thematically analysed the data. The findings suggest that diplomats find the influence of technology to be important in digital diplomacy, but they do not have time to engage with the digital audience, raising the question of trust in digital platforms. In addition, conventional diplomacy is not dead but is integrated into the "new" public diplomacy. Furthermore, the study revealed that digital platforms facilitate the spread of hate speech, fake news, misinformation, and disinformation campaigns, restraining the diplomats from effectively implementing digital diplomacy, and due to the large amount of information from vast projects and agencies that are implemented in Kenya, it is difficult to disseminate this information with one voice, posing a challenge and a need for new skill sets to deal with emerging issues.