21st Century Statecraft?

Mark Henshaw, Senior CIA Analyst, spoke at the Bush School last week on the topic of cybersecurity. During his lecture, he mentioned that, while a fair amount of research has been conducted on the effect information technology has had on military and social affairs, very little has been said about its effect on diplomacy.

So, what do you think? Has information technology, digital infrastructure, social media, electronic communication, information sharing, etc. left its mark on the cumbersome diplomatic bureaucracy? Has the U.S. brought its diplomatic arm into the 21^st Century? Could technology today have a greater impact on relations between countries?

I spent the summer in Foggy Bottom - the Harry S. Truman building specifically - workplace of Madame Secretary and origin of U.S. diplomatic efforts. From my bird’s-eye view in the Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (J), I noticed more than a modicum of 21^st Century effort.

The end of the Euro and the start of Europe in Ukraine

Today, Spain is celebrating victory in the final of the UEFA European Football Championship in Kyiv. But it's not just Madrid that has a reason to rejoice. The people of Poland and Ukraine also have the right to celebrate.

Their successful and largely incident-free performance as hosts has soundly disproved any lingering notions that they are pariahs of traditional Europe.

Specifically, Poles and Ukrainians have shown that their cultures fit into a greater European identity. Though this identity remains a vague concept, the Euro has helped to explain some of the things it consists of: a popular unifying sport, an eyebrow-raising love of beer, as well as various social problems that need addressing.