Media impact on diplomatic practice: An evolutionary model of change Archetti, Cristina Title Media impact on diplomatic practice: An evolutionary model of change Authors Archetti, Cristina Type Conference or Workshop Item URL This version is available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/12444/ Published Date 2010 USIR is a digital collection of the research output of the University of Salford. Where copyright permits, full text material held in the repository is made freely available online and can be read, downloaded and copied for non-commercial private study or research purposes. Please check the manuscript for any further copyright restrictions. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at:
[email protected]. Paper presented at the American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Convention Washington, DC September 2-5, 2010 Media Impact on Diplomatic Practice: An Evolutionary Model of Change Cristina Archetti Lecturer in Politics and Media School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History (ESPaCH) University of Salford Crescent House, Salford Manchester, M5 4WT UK
[email protected] The study would not have been possible without the Salford University Bidding Support Fund 1 Abstract Based on a range of interviews with foreign diplomats in London, the paper explains the considerable variation in the way communication technologies both affect diplomatic practices and are appropriated by diplomats to pursue the respective countries‟ information gathering and outreach objectives. The study shows that London, as an information environment, is experienced differently by each of the diplomats and embassy actors. The analysis elaborates an explanatory model of the “communication behaviour” of foreign diplomats in London based on an evolutionary analogy: foreign diplomats in the context of the British capital, within their respective embassy organizations, can each be compared to the members of a species attempting to survive in a natural environment.