Jovan Kurbalija's blog

Rogers’ diffusion of innovations curve and Gartner’s hype cycle help explain the crucial interplay between the possibilities that are offered by digital tools, and the realities of technology perception and adoption at diplomatic services. This blog aims to provide a reality check to the current ‘blue sky’ coverage of digital diplomacy by providing a third graph, combining Rogers’ insights on technology adoption and Gartners’ depiction of hype cycles.

1,500 steps, 1.2 kilometers, and 142 calories burned were displayed on my pedometer after completing a 2-hour-long ‘walking course’ on Internet governance. It was a slow walk through the beautiful setting of Geneva’s Jardin Botaniques (Botanical Garden) and the attic of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) building. The students of the course were Swiss junior diplomats.

Brexit has been viewed by some commentators as a protest vote against the globalisation paradigm. As the Internet is the technological basis for global integration, and the medium through which billions of people experience globalisation, Brexit should make us think more seriously about the future of the Internet. The shifting paradigms of globalisation and integration are likely to directly affect the Internet.

Thus, the Internet we have today should not be taken for granted.

This morning, two centuries ago, Frankenstein appeared to Mary Shelley in a dream. According to astronomic research, this dream happened between 1 and 2 am on 16 June 1816:

This question popped into my head during one of my Geneva walks. That day, on my daily attempt to pass 12,000 steps, I came across a poster that made me curios to visit an exhibition T’es où?  (in English Where are you?) at the Geneva Science Museum. The exhibition is dedicated to our dependence on space. ‘Where we are’ has been essential for our survival and our overall well-being throughout history.

Athletic metaphors describe diplomacy well. Diplomacy involves both ‘marathons’ of long negotiations, taking months or even years; and fast ‘sprints’ when country leaders make deals in a matter of hours. Diplomats have always had to be able to run both sprints and marathons, as both the long-term processes of generating trust and building relationships, and the short-term need to respond to emergency situations have always been part of diplomacy.

diplomacy – Diplomacy – DIPLOMACY: the three different ways of writing this word illustrate three different ways in which diplomacy is perceived today.

If we want to understand the underlying concepts of the digital era, we have to revisit the opuses of five great thinkers from Vienna: Mises, Schumpeter, Hayek, Freud and Wittgenstein.

As in every other area, forecasts help us imagine what the future will look like, and what to expect.