‘Twiplomacy’ and the making of customary international law on social media

Green, James

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a huge rise in ‘twiplomacy’: that is, the use of social media as a means of direct diplomatic communication by states. This paper examines whether social media posts by states can contribute, directly and in themselves, to the creation or alteration of customary international law. It will be argued that there is nothing inherently unique about a post on social media that would mean it should be discounted, in principle, as being a potential ‘building block’ for customary international law formation. That conclusion raises several questions, however, such as whose tweets (and from which account(s)) may be relevant; authenticity and account hacking fears; and the ‘throwaway’ nature of tweets themselves. What may such factors mean for the way in which customary international law might be made? Moreover, is custom already being made on Twitter?

Citation

Green, J. (2023, April). ‘Twiplomacy’ and the making of customary international law on social media

• Presentation Conference Type: Speech
• Conference Location: University of Westminster
• Start Date: Apr 4, 2023
• End Date: Apr 4, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2023
• Keywords: Twiplomacy, international law, social media
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10610176