Digital diplomacy and social media: The use of Twitter by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean

In the last century, developments in internet technologies and communication systems introduced human beings to the concept of globalization, and with the disapperance of time and space boundaries, the world began to be described as 'Global Village'. Developments in communication Technologies have led to significant changes and transformations, revealing the concept of new media. The new media not only had direct effects on people's lives, but also caused serious changes on the diplomatic functioning of states. Digital diplomacy, which is one of the reflections of the ever-developing technology in the digitalizing world, on the political and diplomatic field, is the realization of activities carried out within the scope of political communication processes for internal and external publics through social media. Among the main features that distinguish Digital diplomacy from traditional media are factors such as immediacy, mutual interaction and direct contact with the target audience thanks to two-way communication. In this study, it has been examined how effectively the Turkish Ministry of National Defense use Twitter, which has a very common usage area among social media applications, within the scope of the Eastern Mediterranean issue, within the framework of the understanding and objectives of the concept of Digital diplomacy. This study was carried out with frequency analysis and categorical analysis methods, which are thought to be the most appropriate method for the study background due to the abundance and diversity of the number of tweets examined. As a result of the study, it was seen that the official Twitter account of the Ministry of National Defense was used effectively within the scope of the Eastern Mediterranean issue, but the official Twitter account of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense was not used effectively.