The Covid-19 Pandemic and the inevitable shift towards Digital Diplomacy

Abstract

The new Corona pandemic surpasses all the pandemics that the world has faced since the Spanish pandemic in 1918, which started late 2019 due to a new Coronavirus called"SARS CoV2", in addition to high mortality rates, the pandemic has caused economic losses, and disrupted all human activities by closing borders and adopting a lockdown system to limit the transmission of the virus. At the level of international relations, most of the diplomatic meetings and conferences were cancelled which led to the reliance on digital technologies to revive diplomatic activity and avoid international isolation with its repercussions on countries. The article explores the role of digital diplomacy, as a form of modern diplomacy in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on states and as well as laying the foundations of international solidarity, exchanging experiences and means of confrontation, in the same context the choice of digital diplomacy is considered as an extension of traditional diplomacy in light of the development witnessed in the field of (ICTs); which opens the door to challenges related to data security and confidentiality of communication as well as to the ethical challenges resulting from the use of digital technologies and online platforms. Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy, Cyberspace, Soft Power