SHORT-TERM DIGITAL DIPLOMACY

By Jake

23 April 2026

A screenshot from the CFR's Global Conflict Tracker this morning.

It is frustrating to be jerked back and forth by news with the feeling that I can’t do anything. Announcements, leaks, interviews, and misleading headlines compete for my attention, and my distracted brain gives in far too many times. But even if these headlines or announcements are speaking to things I care about deeply, like global peace efforts and the sanctity of human life, I doubt that the media spreading the message agrees. All they care about is the engagement and advertising money - or if it’s a politician, they care about consolidating power and influence. They prefer seeming virtuous over virtue. And although we’re told that our voices matter and the digital landscape is a democracy of information, there are the same influences online. 

The online world puts us all in a reactive state all day, eroding our attention while stressing us out. This bleeds over to the diplomatic sphere - if talks don’t succeed immediately, the representatives will declare a failure and return to armed conflict. This ignores a proven diplomatic history where months-long, coordinated efforts helped heal civil wars and end religious conflicts. Or think even farther back - when telegrams or letters over great distances ended wars. Maybe that slower method of obtaining information is more natural to our brains’ decision-making. I can only hope that the older methods prove effective again.

War is raging in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Any debate about headlines won’t change that fact. Even an idyllic future where those wars are solved will involve more unexpected conflict that needs designated problem solvers. What's helped me many times is focusing on the long-term. It reminds me that many people today carry the scars of forgotten conflicts from the last 50 years. Also, children during current conflicts will be decision-makers in the near future. Our grandchildren’s world is being shaped. I think it will be radically different in terms of communication and media, but predicting its specifics is impossible.

It seems like the current ceasefire is only an excuse to gather force again. Men like Pope Leo preach morals without armies to exert their will in the face of armies without morals. I just hope that leaders will focus on more than oil prices, and citizens will become more involved in their local communities where they can make the most difference. We are all playing the long game with the rest of our lives - so study, discuss, and help one another. Break out of the internet bubble to the best of your ability, and channel the online consumption into productive participation. I know our Discord's been slow lately, but even just two people talking with respect will have made a worthy impact. I appreciate your time reading this. 

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