Leaders on Twitter- Twitter as a Digital Diplomacy Tool

Öz

In this study, use of Twitter by Narendra Modi- the Prime Minister of India, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan- the President of the Republic of Turkey and Imran Khan- the Prime Minister of Pakistan is analyzed in terms of their tweets about international issues, reflections of their emotions and their use of language, their interactions and their approaches to the problems. Taking place in the top 10 list of Twiplomacy rankings, they are all active users. The accounts of selected leaders are analyzed by considering each tweet in a determined period. While Narendra Modi shares every activity that he is in and information for the public, Imran Khan mostly tweets about political issues. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan mostly uses his account to inform about domestic developments. All of them have quite active accounts and they use Twitter mostly to inform both their citizens and international community. Reflections of their emotions and tendencies are visible and sometimes perceivable. Since the selected period is coincided with the rise of COVID-19, all of three leaders paid special attention to this pandemic.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• digital diplomacy
• internet
• leaders
• international relations

Liderler Twitter'da: Dijital Diplomasi Aracı Olarak Twitter

Öz

Bu çalışmada Hindistan Başbakanı Narendra Modi’nin, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Edoğan’ın ve Pakistan Başbakanı Imran Khan’ın Twitter kullanımı, uluslararası sorunlar hakkındaki tweetleri, duyguların tweetlere yansıması, dilin kullanımı, liderlerin problemlere karşı yaklaşımları ve diğer hesaplarla etkileşimleri açısından incelenmiştir. Twiplomacy sıralamasında ilk onda yer alan üç lider de aktif Twitter kullanıcılarıdır. Belirlenmiş bir zaman aralığında atılmış olan tüm tweetler incelenerek ilgili hesaplar analiz edilmiştir. Narendra Modi katılmış olduğu tüm etkinlikleri ve halk için gereken bilgileri paylaşırken Imran Khan çoğunlukla siyasi problemler ile ilgili tweet atmıştır. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ise çoğunlukla ülke içi gelişmelerle ilgili bilgilendirme amacıyla hesabını kullanmaktadır. Hesapların hepsi de oldukça aktif hesaplardır ve çoğunlukla hem kendi vatandaşlarını hem de uluslararası toplumu bilgilendirme amacıyla kullanılmaktadır. Hesap sahiplerinin tweetlerindeki duygusal yansımalar ve yatkınlıklar da belirgindir ve belirgin olmadığı zamanlarda da algılanabilir niteliktedir. Seçilen zaman aralığı COVID-19’un yükselişte olduğu döneme denk geldiğinden dolayı üç liderin de pandemi ile ilgili tweetlere özel ilgi gösterdikleri görülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• dijital diplomasi
• internet
• liderler
• uluslararası ilişkiler

Kaynakça

1. Bjola, C., & Pamment, J. (2016). The "dark side" of digital diplomacy. In C. Bjola, & J. Pamment, Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism- The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy. New York: Routledge.
2. Çolakoğlu, S. (2015). Diplomasi. In Ş. Kardaş, & A. Balcı, Uluslararası İlişkilere Giriş (pp. 379-388). İstanbul: Küre Yayınları.
3. Hanson, F. (2012). Baked in and wired: eDiplomacy@State. Washinton DC: Brookings Institution.
4. Hayden, C. (2018). Digital Diplomacy. In G. Martel, The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy (pp. 1-13). USA: JohnWiley & Sons. doi:10.1002/9781118885154.dipl0068.
5. İskit, T. (2018). Diplomasi Tarihi. Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi.
6. Manor, I. (2016). What is Digital Diplomacy, and how is it Practiced around the World? A brief introduction. Diplomatist Magazine 2016 Annual Edition.
7. Sandre, A. (2015). Diplomacy in 140 Characters,or Less- A conversation with Matthias Lüfkens, Practice Leader Digital EMEA, and author of @Twiplomacy. In A. Sandre, DIGITAL DIPLOMACY- Conversations on Innovation in Foreign Policy (pp. 77-84). London: Rowman & Littlefield.
8. Sandre, A. (2015). Pioneering Twitter Diplomacy- A conversation with Arturo Sarukhan, Ambassador of Mexico to the United States (2007–2012). In A. Sandre, DIGITAL DIPLOMACY- Conversations on Innovation (pp. 70-76). London: Rowman & Littlefield.

9. Snow, N. (2013). Public Diplomacy- New Dimensions and Implications. In T. McPhail, Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders and Trends, 4th Edition (pp. 64-70). London: Wiley- Blackwell.
10. Westcott, N. (2008). Digital Diplomacy: The Impact of the Internet on International Relations. Oxford Internet Institute. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1326476.
11. Adesina, O. S. (2017). Foreign policy in an era of digital diplomacy. Cogent Social Sciences, pp.1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1297175.
12. Chhabra, R. (2020). Twitter Diplomacy: A Brief Analysis. Observer Research Foundation. ORF Issue Brief, No: 335.
13. Collins, N., & Bekenova, K. (2019). Digital diplomacy: Success at Your Fingertrips. Place Brand Public Diplomacy, pp. 1-11.
14. Duncombe, C. (2019). Feeling digital diplomacy: Soft power, emotion, and the future of public diplomacy. In J. Mcclory, The Soft Power 30 (pp. 91-94). Portland: USC Center on Public Diplomacy.
15. Manor, I., & Pamment, J. (2019). Towards prestige mobility? Diplomatic prestige and digital diplomacy. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 32(2), pp. 93-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2019.1577801.
16. Surowiec, P., & Long, P. (2020). Hybridity and Soft Power Statecraft: The ‘GREAT’ Campaign. Diplomacy & Statecraft, pp. 168-195. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2020.1721092.
17. Bergstrom, H. (2018, December 6). Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age. Diplomatic Courier: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/public-diplomacy-in-the-digital-age.
18. Imran Khan. (2020, January 4). Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1213352609899253760.
19. Imran Khan. (2020, February 28). Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1233416147682385920.
20. Imran Khan. (2020, May 17). Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1261976539836620800.
21. Narendra. (2020, March 20). Modi: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1241056858825093120.
22. Narendra Modi. (2020, March 20). Twitter: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1241056983651733504.
23. Narendra Modi. (2020, April 3). Twitter: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1246079364648685568.
24. Narendra Modi. (2020, May 27). Twitter: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1265676487069331456.
25. Narendra Mori. (2020, July 2). Twitter: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1240877444850003969.
26. Narendra Mori. (2020, March 20). Twitter: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1240996849537835008.
27. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (2020, January 8). Twitter: https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1214962469317365761.
28. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (2020, January 19). Twitter: https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1218794944640569344.
29. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (2020, January 27). Twitter: https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1221804344779182082.
30. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (2020, February 12). Twitter: https://twitter.com/tcbestepe/status/1227510046147383296.
31. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (2020, March 2). Twitter: https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1234440244377923584.
32. The 50 Most Followed World Leaders. (2020, July 1). Twiplomacy: https://twiplomacy.com/ranking/the-50-most-followed-world-leaders/.
33. Tunney, D. (2014, April 24). Traditional diplomacy is being transformed by social media and online communication. (A. Hanganu, Interviewer) http://digitaldiplomacy.ro/interview-david-tunney-head-social-media-eeas-traditional-diplomacy-transformed-social-media-online-communication/?lang=en.