The Transformation of Diplomacy in the Digital Age: The Legal Framework, Security Challenges, and the Estonian Model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/eljpa/12.2/266Keywords:
digital diplomacy, legal framework, European Union, Romania, EstoniaAbstract
Digital diplomacy today operates within an increasingly well-defined legal framework, resulting from the convergence of global, European, and national regulations. This emerging normative ecosystem is shaping a new branch of international and European law focused on the governance of the digital space. In this context, diplomats are required to develop interdisciplinary skills, combining law, technology, and international relations, as digital diplomacy becomes both a tool for action and an object of negotiation. Although the current legislative framework is in continuous development, the accelerated pace of technological innovation poses major challenges related to the balance between innovation, national security, and the protection of fundamental rights, offering a strategic advantage to states capable of adapting and actively contributing to shaping this field.References
European Commission. (2022). The digital services act. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act
European Commission. (2023). NIS2 directive. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/nis2-directive
European Commission. (2024). AI act. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai
European Commission. (2025). The international digital strategy for the European Union. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/international-digital-strategy
Ministerul Cercetării, Inovării şi Digitalizării. (2023, 1 Martie). România este printre primele state din lume care reglementează diplomaţia şi igiena cibernetică într-o lege. https://www.research.gov.ro/romania-este-printre-primele-state-din-lume-care-reglementeaza-diplomatia-si-igiena-cibernetica-intr-o-lege-9531/
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (n.d.). The 2007 Cyber Attacks on Estonia. https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/cyber_attacks_estonia.pdf
POEU (2016, April 27). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/3e485e15-11bd-11e6-ba9a-01aa75ed71a1/
United Nations. (2024). Global digital compact. https://www.un.org/global-digital-compact/en
Verrekia, B. (2017). Digital diplomacy and its effect on international relations. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2596/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, Romania & InManifest Network
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the works authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in European Journal of Law and Public Administration.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
EJLPA Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
