Can blockchain go green?
Updates Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, E-commerce and trade, E-waste, Future of work, Inclusive finance Blogs
On 15 September, all eyes of the cryptocurrency industry were pointed at the block count of the Ethereum blockchain. It was a countdown to the block height 15537394, set as the target which, upon hitting, will activate the Proof of Stake…
It was 20 years ago today: Two decades of the increased research, education, and digital development of diplomacy
BlogsMy experience with Diplo is twofold: personal and academic, and the two are intertwined.
In 1990, I was working at the Yugoslav Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade. One morning, a representative from Human Resources introduced us…
Intercultural communication and logical fallacies
Diplo Wisdom Circle Contemporary diplomacy, Cultural diversity, Diplomatic theory and practice, Intercultural communication, Language and diplomacy Blogs
This blog is the first in a series in which I explore intercultural communication through the lens of logical fallacies, linking each fallacy to a current trend or event.
I have chosen fallacies in the first instance because, as their name…
Wreckers are as important as builders
Diplo Wisdom Circle Blogs
I was reading Eric Hobsbawn’s excellent eulogy on Tony Judt this rainy morning. One sentence struck me. Speaking of the end of the Communist system, this Marxist historian stated:
The real heroes of the period [i.e. the end of communism]…
Diplomacy as poetry
Diplo Wisdom Circle Ambiguity, Diplomatic theory and practice, Language and diplomacy Blogs
Can poetry help diplomacy? A joke, surely! Poetry and diplomacy are worlds apart and have nothing in common other than using language as a medium. Diplomacy is devoid of poetry unless, that is, we count the alliteration in President Trump’s…
A brief history of Yoga diplomacy
Diplo Wisdom Circle Contemporary diplomacy, Cultural diplomacy, Cultural diversity, Health diplomacy, Intercultural communication, Nation branding, Public diplomacy, Sports diplomacy Blogs
Yoga, said Narendra Modi at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2014, is not just exercise. 'By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can also help us deal with climate change.' He then urged the nations…
The collapse of crypto market rings the bell for regulators
Updates Consumer protection, Cryptocurrencies, Digital business models, E-commerce and trade Blogs
How fast do we need regulation for bridging crypto and traditional finance?
Hint: Right now.
Celsius Network: A case study
Crypto markets are again being shaken by the recent news (or lack of it) from the cryptocurrency project Celsius…
Why Elon Musk Twitter experiment could be a success – even if it fails?
BlogsElon Musk could save social media whether he succeeds or fails in making Twitter an open space for responsible free speech. It is an enormous task, much more complex than Musk’s previous business successes with Tesla and SpaceX.
By trying…
National champions do not help to win the race for digital industrialisation
Updates Data and diplomacy, E-commerce and trade BlogsFrom a governmental perspective, national champions are usually private-led companies seen as vital to promoting the interests of the nation. Often, this recognition translates into governmental policies that support or favour these enterprises…
What’s new with cybersecurity negotiations: OEWG 2021-2025 second substantive session
Cybersecurity BlogsThe UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on cyber, which will be active until 2025, held its second substantive session. The discussions were overtaken by an organisational issue that should have been solved at the very start of the group’s…
The Ukraine crisis may shape the future of the internet
Conflict and crisis, Critical internet resources, Cyberconflict and warfare, Cybersecurity BlogsOn 28 February, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov requested that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) cut Russia’s access to the infrastructure of the global internet. This was part of the efforts…
Post-COVID-19 economic diplomacy for small states
Alumni COVID-19 and Diplomacy, Diplomacy of small states BlogsSmall states, which make up more than half of the world's population, employ various tactics and strategies to best position themselves for economic development and political influence in today's globalised, multi-polar, and competitive environment.
The…