Monthly Magazine January 2021
Published on 24-Feb-2021 11:00:00
Digital Foreign Policy in the era of Digital Diplomacy
In November 2020, Switzerland introduced its Digital Foreign Policy Strategy, marking a new phase in its efforts to shape the governance of digital issues. For decades, Switzerland has been at the forefront of international digital developments. It hosted the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003, and played an instrumental role in launching the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It additionally pioneered the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) confidence-building measures back in 2013. Currently, Switzerland chairs the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Cybersecurity (OEWG). Together with Singapore, Estonia, Rwanda, and the Netherlands, Switzerland has been among the most prominent contributors towards a more inclusive and impactful digital governance globally.
As many countries worldwide look for ways to deal with the digitalization of foreign policy, the Swiss strategy can serve as a very useful guideline. It brings terminological and conceptual clarity in addressing the interplay between digital and diplomacy. Ignazio Cassis, head of Swiss diplomacy, stressed that ‘Digitalization is on the one hand an instrument, helping to simplify processes, for example in the area of consular services or IT. On the other, it is also a foreign policy matter.’