[Commlist] Online Symposium on Influencer Diplomacy: CFP

*Call for Papers: Influencer Diplomacy Symposium, Friday, 24 April 2026 
(Online)*
*Applications now open, closing 16 March 2026*

*Read the full CfP here _https://ierlab.com/influencer-diplomacy/ 
<https://ierlab.com/influencer-diplomacy/>_ *

**
This is a reminder that the submission deadline for the upcoming 
Influencer Diplomacy Symposium, hosted by the Influencer Ethnography 
Research Lab (IERLab), is in two weeks [16 March 2026].
The symposium will be held online via Zoom on 24 April 2026 and will 
examine the evolving practice of influencer diplomacy across political, 
cultural, and geopolitical contexts.
Recent scholarship has highlighted the growing role of influencers in 
political arenas, including their involvement in diplomatic 
communication, soft power initiatives, conflict mediation, and 
international perception management. While research has addressed 
political influencers, geopolitical influencers, and state–influencer 
collaborations, there remains no shared definition of ‘influencer 
diplomacy.’
This symposium foregrounds influencer diplomacy as a generative concept, 
referring to the ways in which influencer cultures, practices, and 
industries impact diplomatic processes, from influencers assuming 
diplomatic roles and politicians adopting influencer strategies, to 
marketing firms leveraging influencer infrastructures in the mediation 
of international relations. Influencer diplomacy operates not only at 
formal state and institutional levels but also intersects with everyday 
politics, shaping public discourse and social engagement. Moreover, it 
must account for how influencers, as platform-savvy actors, tailor 
diplomatic communication to the vernaculars, norms, and affordances of 
specific digital platforms.
To explore this phenomenon in more detail, the Influencer Ethnography 
Research Lab (IERLab) will be hosting a one-day online symposium (on 
Zoom) to examine the evolving practice of influencer diplomacy. We 
invite submissions from humanities and social sciences, including but 
not limited to media studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, 
political science, area studies, and international relations. We 
particularly welcome submissions that focus on empirically grounded 
research and comparative case studies.
Selected papers will be considered for a peer reviewed edited 
collection. As such, we are only able to consider original, 
previously-unpublished abstracts/papers. Suggested topics include but 
are not limited to:

  *
    Influencers as official and unofficial intermediaries in diplomatic
    endeavours
  *
    Motivations, labour, and negotiation in influencers’ diplomatic 
practice
  *
    Politicians adopting influencer strategies in international
    communication
  *
    The role of affect, intimacy, authenticity, and storytelling as
    diplomatic resources
  *
    Audience participation, public formation, and the politicisation of
    influencer collaborations
  *
    Influencer diplomacy as both a practice and a governing logic: how
    diplomacy increasingly ‘thinks like an influencer’
  *
    Influencer diplomacy in crisis, conflict, humanitarian, and wartime
    contexts
  *
    Regulation, disclosure, and governance of state–influencer
    collaborations


To be considered for the symposium, please submit a 250-word abstract 
and 100-word bio via the Google form below by 1700hrs (GMT+8) 16 March 
2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent on 20 March 2026. We 
gladly welcome co-authored submissions; to keep presentations 
consistent, each submission is limited to one presenter, preferably the 
corresponding author. Please submit via this form: 
_https://forms.gle/7EWBPEuR4gk3ceKK7 <https://forms.gle/7EWBPEuR4gk3ceKK7>_

All enquiries should be directed to (_contact /at/ IERLab.com) 
<mailto:(contact /at/ IERLab.com)>_

Key Dates:

  *
    16 March 2026: Abstracts and biographies due
  *
    20 March 2026: Notifications of acceptance
  *
    24 April 2026: Influencer Diplomacy Symposium



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