In any society, business or network, the ability to evaluate and then trust partners is a crucial component of co-operation. For that reason, trust has been described as “part of the glue that holds our society together.”14 Applying trust modelling to the networks of actors at work in the diplomatic landscape has the potential to better model potential outcomes of discussions, votes and negotiations.
This work comes at an important time. The role of trust in broader society has been thrown into sharp focus by the phenomenon of fake news, manipulated images and deepfake videos. The diplomatic landscape is powerfully shaped by the information that flows through it, and false and misleading information has huge disruptive potential and can have significant consequences in processes and negotiations where much is at stake.