From Diplomacy About Technology to Diplomacy Through Technology: A Three-Dimensional Framework for Tech Diplomacy

Tech diplomacy is now established as both the governance of digital and emerging technologies and the diplomatic engagement of states with a broad ecosystem of non-state actors (including tech giants, civil society, international organisations, and expert communities). What remains undertheorized is a third dimension: diplomacy through technology. This article argues that states increasingly deploy infrastructure, standards, digital public infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and technological hosting arrangements as instruments of diplomatic influence, trust-building, resilience, and geopolitical positioning.