Iranian Digital Diplomacy Towards China: 2019 as a Turning Point

Wang, Dan; Yellinek, Roie

Abstract

Digital diplomacy is an efficient tool for building close relationships between countries, especially when it comes to people-to-people diplomacy (P2P). This article aims to explore how the Iranian embassy in Beijing uses Chinese social media and reveals the motivations and changes in its behaviour. The main finding was that 2019 was a turning point; before 2019, the embassy messages were more informative without targeting specifically its Chinese audience, and since 2019 the messages have been showing deeper understating the local discourse and, therefore, have been more tailored for its Chinese audience. The main reasons for that were the place of Iran in the China-US trade war, the role of the EU in uplifting Iran's status in the international community, and the Ambassadors' characteristics and background, which switched at the end of 2018.

Citation

Wang, D., & Yellinek, R. (2022). Iranian Digital Diplomacy Towards China: 2019 as a Turning Point. Asian Affairs, 53(1), 68-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2022.2029054

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Feb 9, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: May 17, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 17, 2022
• Journal: Asian Affairs
• Print ISSN: 0306-8374
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-1500
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 68-86
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2022.2029054
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1207928