ABSTRACT
Diplomats and leaders bemoan the limits to trust in digitally mediated interactions, such as video conferencing, while they historically have been able to build trust and networks with far less. This is particularly puzzling since new digital technologies provide the opportunity to mimic, at least to a large degree, the visual face-to-face experience. In this chapter, the authors explore this puzzle by interrogating how bonds are created in diplomacy. Drawing upon recent work in microsociology, the authors elaborate on the conditions under which social bonds can be expected to form between individuals, including diplomats and leaders. They then assess the extent to which these conditions are present in face-to-face interactions, telephonic, text-based communication, and finally video-conferencing technology. The authors argue that diplomats and leaders are not wrong to point out the limitations of video conferencing technologies, but they have not articulated the fundamental nature of the problem, which includes a lack of the information richness that exists in and through face-to-face interaction, the preclusion of serendipitous encounters, and crucially, a reduced ability to exclude outsiders. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that while physical interactions are required for strong bond formation, these other communication modalities at the disposal of leaders and diplomats may offer opportunities for bonding, albeit of a weaker type.
