Diplo Blog
Do diplomats have personal rights to protection under the VCDR that they can enforce?
17 July 2025
Do diplomats have personal rights under international law, or are all rights held by the sending state? Alan Franklin examines why diplomatic immunity often leaves individuals with ‘a right without a remedy’.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a test case for 21st-century energy diplomacy
16 July 2025
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, showcases the complex dynamics between energy ambition, regional cooperation, and geopolitical sensitivity. Located on the Blue Nile, the major tributary of the Nile River, GERD is set to provide Ethiopia with over 5,000 MW of renewable electricity. Beyond its technical features, the dam has become […]
Military AI: Operational dangers and the regulatory void
09 July 2025
As military AI becomes operational in today’s conflicts, the lack of regulation and accountability risks turning warfare into a domain governed by opaque algorithms and unchecked escalation. Without urgent global oversight, these technologies could outpace our ability to control them, putting peace, ethics, and human lives in jeopardy.
Diplomacy is where there are no rules
09 July 2025
Diplomacy begins where there are no rules – only open-ended possibilities. Aldo Matteucci explains how real diplomacy begins: with trial-and-error, creative thinking, and turning confusion into agreement.
AI Apprenticeship for IOs · From diplomats to AI builders
06 July 2025
The AI Apprenticeship for International Organisations, developed by DiploFoundation, empowers professionals from entities like the UN, WHO, and CERN to create AI tools that enhance global cooperation. Participants learn to design AI applications tailored to their daily tasks, emphasizing governance, ethics, and practical usage. Projects such as AI assistants addressing misinformation, language support, and event navigation showcase how thoughtful AI integration can augment human expertise and improve decision-making in complex global contexts. This initiative aims to close the AI skills gap and promote responsible AI usage within international governance frameworks.
The power of self-organisation
04 July 2025
Can Wikipedia teach diplomacy a lesson? Aldo Matteucci contrasts rigid hierarchies with messy, adaptive self-organising systems, and asks which one truly gets more done.
The future of global security and why cyber diplomacy matters
03 July 2025
Cybernorms, Cyber diplomacy, Cybersecurity, Types of diplomacy
June’s G7 meeting, chaired by Canada, focused mainly on issues such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as latest conflicts, including those between Israel and Iran and Russia and Ukraine. The objective of the event in terms of cyberspace was to change strategy regarding the relevant use of these ‘new’ tools. The proposed […]
AI and Magical Realism: When technology blurs the line between wonder and reality
27 June 2025
The challenges of governing artificial intelligence often feel like something out of a Gabriel García Márquez novel, where the extraordinary blends seamlessly with the everyday, and the line between the possible and the impossible grows faint. This week (22-27 June 2025) at the 20th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), I proposed using magical realism as a lens to understand […]
The art of bending without breaking: Vietnam’s quiet power play
25 June 2025
The land of lotus flowers, where ancient wisdom echoes through the centuries, has become a key player in Southeast Asia. Once a divided and war-torn country, Vietnam is now a symbol of stability and growth in the regional arena.
AI in Sophie’s world: How a philosophy book can help us govern AI
21 June 2025
As we convene in Oslo for the Internet Governance Forum, we reflect on the philosophical insights from Jostein Gaarder's "Sophie’s World." The novel's exploration of identity and constructed reality parallels the challenges of AI governance today. Just as Sophie learns her existence is scripted, AI systems are shaped by data and algorithms, raising questions about consciousness and accountability. The complexities of AI, such as the 'black box' problem, highlight the need for transparency and understanding. Ultimately, governance should prioritize values and meaning, urging us to engage with fundamental questions about identity and existence in our digital age.
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