Tech diplomacy: a new area of diplomacy or a new diplomacy?

The boundaries of diplomacy are shifting. Once confined to negotiations between governments, diplomacy today is increasingly shaped by technology and the companies that design, own and operate critical infrastructure. This year’s NATO summit illustrated this reality vividly. For the first time, an Industry Forumran alongside the leaders’ meeting, bringing technology and defence companies directly into the diplomatic arena. This was more than symbolism: it showed that governments cannot shape credible security strategies without private-sector partners. 

From digital to tech diplomacy 

Digital diplomacy once referred mainly to governments using online platforms to communicate, advocate and influence. Tech diplomacy, however, is broader and deeper. It acknowledges technology firms themselves as diplomatic actors. From undersea cables and satellites to AI and quantum innovation, companies now hold tools that directly affect national security and global power balances. 

The European Union’s latest digital diplomacy strategy reflects this evolution. What was once primarily value-driven, focused on human rights online and internet freedom, now increasingly emphasises competitiveness,security and resilience. Europe is aligning its digital agenda with its defence ambitions, especially through the Readiness 2030 plan and the wider effort to rebuild European defence capacity. 

Why tech diplomacy matters for Europe 

Europe’s rearmament is not just about new weapons systems. It is about ensuring secure supply chains, resilient infrastructure and technological sovereignty. Without strong partnerships with industry, neither NATO nor the EU can achieve these goals. Yet, this cooperation raises a challenge: how to build trust between governments, private companies and societies. 

This is where tech diplomacy offers unique value. It is not only a new arena for dialogue but a framework to align state power, corporate capacity and societal trust. 

A three-pillar approach 

To make tech diplomacy work, Europe should consider a three-pillar model: 

• First, states must strengthen their tech diplomacy capacities. Governments already have digital units in foreign ministries, but these need to expand into fully–fledged tech diplomacy departments. Their task would be to anticipate risks, build strategic partnerships and ensure that diplomacy reflects the realities of a digital and defence-driven world; 
• Second,private sector actors must step up as formal partners. Technology and defence companies should create tech diplomacy divisions of their own, dedicated teams that work directly with ministries, NATO and EU institutions. This would normalise dialogue and ensure companies do not merely react to policy but help shape responsible frameworks; 
• Third, civil society must serve as the trust-builder. Public scepticism of corporate influence in security is real and governments alone cannot mediate it. Civil society organisations can play the role of independent bridge-builders, ensuring accountability, transparency and the safeguarding of democratic values. Their involvement would prevent tech diplomacy from becoming a purely transactional exchange of interests. 

Together, these three pillars could transform tech diplomacy from an abstract idea into a sustainable practice. 

More than a sectoral issue 

What makes this agenda urgent is that technology cannot be treated as just another aspect of international discourse and one that might soon overtake classic diplomacy in its existential importance. Cybersecurity, AI governance, quantum breakthroughs and digital infrastructure resilience cut across all areas of national power. The stakes are so high that no single actor, whether a government, a company or an NGO, can manage them alone. 

That is why tech diplomacy should not be understood as a standalone domain, but rather as one of the strongest new pillars of traditional diplomacy. By embedding technology into the very structure of international relations, Europe can strengthen its autonomy while also reinforcing transatlantic cooperation. 

 The open question 

The world is watching Europe’s next moves. Will states invest in professionalised tech diplomacy units? Will companies accept a diplomatic role beyond their commercial interests? Will civil society be invited in as a guarantor of trust? 

These choices will define whether tech diplomacy becomes merely a niche field or a cornerstone of global governance. The question remains: are we witnessing the rise of a new area of diplomacy, or the birth of an entirely new diplomacy? 

The views expressed in this #CriticalThinking article reflect those of the author(s) and not of Friends of Europe.