Social media is changing not only the atmosphere in which international negotiations take place; it is also changing the very substance of the deals. Because of the pace and proliferation of social media, negotiators must read “weak signals” early on—and anticipate a quickly organized, highly motivated opposition. However, diplomatic negotiators still lack the tools to engage in this sort of anticipatory strategy design. This article examines two recent cases, one involving the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the other involving a German Constitutional Court’s ruling on the European Central Bank’s Public Debt Purchasing Program, in which social media had a highly disruptive, unanticipated impact on international negotiations—to the point of forcing negotiators’ hands—and suggests institutional remedies to better anticipate the catalytic impact of advancing technology on diplomatic interactions.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体对外交谈判的影响：改变桌子的形状

社交媒体不仅在改变进行国际谈判的气氛，而且正在改变。这也改变了交易的实质。由于社交媒体的发展和迅速发展，谈判者必须及早阅读“弱信号”，并期望有一个迅速组织，积极主动的反对派。但是，外交谈判代表仍然缺乏进行这种预期战略设计的工具。本文研究了两个最近的案例，一个涉及跨大西洋贸易和投资伙伴关系，另一个涉及德国宪法法院对欧洲中央银行公共债务购买计划的裁决，其中社交媒体具有高度破坏性，