Romania’s Quiet Strength: Digital Diplomacy in an Uncertain World

In a time when global power feels increasingly unmoored from treaties, territories, and even truth, it’s tempting to assume that small and medium-sized states are doomed to drift. But in a world reshaped by networks, not navies, and influence, not occupation, there is room to maneuver—if a country knows how to frame its strengths. And Romania, though often underestimated, is beginning to show what that looks like. It’s not a story of missiles or military bases. It’s one of servers, standards, and smart diplomacy.

At the heart of this quiet transformation is Romania’s rising role in European cybersecurity. Hosting the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) in Bucharest is more than symbolic—it’s strategic. For the first time, an EU-level body focused on digital resilience and research coordination is headquartered not in a Western capital, but in an Eastern European country often dismissed as a consumer of security rather than a contributor to it.

But the ECCC isn’t an isolated success. Romania has also developed an active, civilian-focused cybersecurity agency—the National Directorate for Cybersecurity (DNSC). This is not an opaque body buried in technical jargon. The DNSC has made public education, strategic communication, and international cooperation core to its mission. It doesn’t just defend networks—it tells a story. And that matters more than ever in 2025.

This is where Romania becomes a model, even if few outside the region have fully realized it yet. The country has managed to turn its deep pool of IT talent into something more than economic value. It is now translating that expertise into geopolitical capital—not by making threats, but by offering capability, credibility, and capacity-building to partners. Cybersecurity, here, is not just a domestic function. It is an instrument of diplomacy.

Watching these developments from the vantage point of someone trained in international relations and shaped by academic work, I see the outlines of a digital diplomacy model that more small states should study—and emulate. Romania doesn’t have the power to impose norms globally, but it has something equally important in this era: the ability to shape the architecture and language of digital cooperation. It is already doing this inside the EU, through technical engagement and regulatory harmonisation, and it could expand this role further in Eastern Partnership countries, the Balkans, and even regions where traditional diplomacy has stalled.

What makes Romania’s example valuable is not just the presence of cyber institutions—it’s the way they are publicly framed and used. DNSC engages with civil society, runs awareness campaigns, and positions itself as both guardian and guide. That blend of technical authority and public visibility is rare in Eastern Europe, where state communication still often leans toward opacity. In this sense, Romania is setting a best practice: cybersecurity not just as secrecy and defense, but as visibility and trust.

And trust is, arguably, the new currency of international relations. In a world where misinformation spreads faster than diplomacy can react, and where global influence depends more on credibility than on coercion, countries that build technical trust are building power. Romania is doing that—not through flashy campaigns or expensive hardware, but through the consistency of its institutions and the steady rise of a digitally literate, globally minded policy class.

It’s not a revolution. But it doesn’t need to be. What Romania is showing in 2025 is that small countries can act big—if they choose the right domains. Cyber diplomacy offers just that: a domain where cost is low, relevance is high, and the return on credibility can be enormous.

What comes next will depend on whether Romania continues to integrate this digital edge into its broader foreign policy strategy. If it does—if cybersecurity becomes a permanent tool of outreach, partnership, and projection—then this quiet strength may become one of the most enduring pillars of Romania’s position in Europe and beyond. In a world where even great powers are struggling to maintain consistent narratives, Romania’s example is worth more than a second look. It’s worth learning from.