From the Telegraph to Twitter

Geneva

The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) hosted a luncheon seminar entitled ´From the Telegraph to Twitter: Is There a Lesson for the Internet Era from the Telegraph and the Outbreak of the First World War?´, in partnership with the Austrian and the Serbian Permanent Missions to the UN.

Follow-up articles:

100 YEARS AFTER | How did telegraph shape outcome of World War I? Is Twitter changing diplomacy now? NEW
By: Jovan Kurbalija, Special to InterAksyon.com (5 August, 2014)
Also published as: From Telegraph (1914) to Twitter (2014) – Are there lessons to be learned? NEW

Of related interest:

[Webinar] The invention of the telegraph and the golden age in the history of diplomacy 26 August, 15:00 CET NEW

Tweets from 1914
Chrono-narcissism, 1914 - 2014 and Technology
The invention of the telegraph and the golden age in the history of diplomacy

 

Photo gallery of the event

Webcast of the event

Jovan started tweeting ‘from 1914’. These tweets report atmosphere and developments during the July crisis 1914.

 

In 2014, we will mark the 200th anniversary of the Congress of Vienna, one of the most successful events in diplomatic history, as well as the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, one of the greatest failures of diplomacy.

Like the Internet today, the telegraph played a vital role in shaping geopolitics between these two major events. While the telegraph enabled faster communication among capitals, it also created confusion and misunderstanding.

Some authors, such as Stephen Kern, argue that ‘telegraph confusion’ contributed to the July Crisis and the outbreak of World War I in 1914: 'This telegraphic exchange at the highest level dramatised the spectacular failure of diplomacy, to which telegraphy contributed with crossed messages, delays, sudden surprises, and unpredictable timing.'

One of a few lessons that we have learned from the telegraph and the events of 1914, is that speed and immediacy do not always provide positive results.

Programme

12.30 - 13.00 Refreshments

13.00 - 14.00 Seminar

  • Welcome by the Permanent Representatives of Austria and Serbia

  • Historical perspective by Honorary Professor André Liebich, Graduate Institute - Geneva

  • Presentation of the study: ‘Telegraph development in the period 1900-1914: parallels with and differences to Internet developments’ by Jovan Kurbalija, DiploFoundation

  • Discussion

Registration

Registrations are now closed.  More information: Tereza Horejsova at terezah@diplomacy.edu

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