Sharing the Same Playground? An Analysis of the Private Sector's Role in Tech Diplomacy

ABSTRACT This article takes the emergence of tech diplomacy as the motivation for an investigation into shifting relationships between traditional diplomatic actors and non‐state actors. The observation that ‘new diplomatic actors’ and new diplomatic venues have led to a ‘new kind of diplomacy’ dates back to at least the 1990s. In the area of Internet Governance, digital topics are addressed through a variety of multistakeholder models. The article investigates discourses on tech diplomacy, broadly understood, by focusing on how traditional diplomatic actors discursively frame their relationship with multinational tech companies and how these frames might depart from previous perspectives. In doing so, it analyses the relevant strategies of selected countries (Australia, Denmark, Germany, Malta, Switzerland, and the UK) and the views of tech diplomacy practitioners. The frames identified by the article range from a focus on established multistakeholder models to suggestions of a more fundamental shift in the relationship. As a theoretical lens to grasp these shifts, the article suggests a ‘recognition game’ between traditional diplomatic actors and multinational tech companies. Thus, what the article calls ‘tech diplomacy beyond established multistakeholderism’ emerges as one attempt to address the rising power of tech companies.