Description
Political parties, governments, intelligence agencies, military companies, embassies, and intergovernmental institutions are increasingly present on social media. From the CIA posting about its office cat, to NATO channelling a “BRAT summer,” and the UN experimenting with TikTok trends, these actors are adopting informal, humorous, and often playful tones online. While intended to be engaging, these efforts frequently provoke a different reaction: cringe. Defined as “the intense visceral reaction produced by an awkward moment” (Dahl 2018, p. 8), cringe is a form of second-hand embarrassment that arises when institutions attempt to appear relatable but miss the mark (Baspehlivan 2024). In this paper we explore the international political effects of cringe. Building on scholarship that examines humour in IR as a tool for soft power, norm contestation, and identity construction, we argue that cringe represents a communicative failure. These institutions are pursuing a new strategy to cultivate legitimacy and public connection through humour and informality. However, rather than reinforcing authority or trust, their attempts often undermine credibility and provoke discomfort. We examine how this dynamic reshapes perceptions of institutional power, authority, and relevance in the digital age.
