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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Interesting and important.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">My question relates to this part:
“the
degree to which such processes could at all be called
``democratic``
at least within any definition of the term that I (or I would
expect
most of us) would understand.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">There is an assumption what “most of
us” would expect – but it is not defined.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">So I assume – maybe wrongly? - it is
a kind of “one man (or woman) one vote”? If not – so what?
Please elaborate.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This surely was a good principle –
it
was used a lot arguing, for example, against the South African
Apartheid regime which rejected it.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">Was
it
a triumph of democracy when the National Socialists</span><b>
(</b><span style="font-weight: normal">the</span><b>
“Na</b><span style="font-weight: normal">tionalso</span><b>zi</b><span
style="font-weight: normal">alisten</span><b>”
= Nazi”),</b><span style="font-weight: normal"> with the help
of
the </span><a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_National_People%27s_Party"><font
color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span
style="font-weight: normal">German
National People's Party</span></span></font></a><span
style="font-weight: normal">,
</span><span style="font-weight: normal">were victorious in
elections
in</span><span style="font-weight: normal"> March 1933 –</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">
starting a dark age of German history, </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">tremendous
damage on many others too</span><span style="font-weight:
normal">.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“<span style="font-weight: normal">Demo-cracy”
hints
at a concept that the will of the people governs. But how?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">The
Cambodian
People's Party has gained more and more seats in the
National Assembly through every vote since 1993 – but the UN
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in
Cambodia </span><span style="font-weight: normal">has
raised serious concerns </span><span style="font-weight:
normal">because</span><span style="font-weight: normal">
the electoral system – especially the National Election
Committee –
is controlled by government appointees, NOT representing the
plurality of parties in the National Assembly. And thousands
and
thousands of people forcefully evicted from their traditional
areas
of residency have not only lost their homes, but they are no
longer
on residency related voter lists.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">Is
the one-country-one-vote - on the UN level – more democratic,
where
</span><span style="font-weight: normal">14 million </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">Cambodia
ha</span><span style="font-weight: normal">ve</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">
the same vote-weight as </span><span style="font-weight:
normal">235+ million of </span><span style="font-weight:
normal">Ind</span><span style="font-weight: normal">onesia</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">? </span>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">The
question
is not only: What is democratic? – </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">I</span><span style="font-weight:
normal">n
the actual situations where we liv</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">e
it means</span><span style="font-weight: normal"> also: </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">H</span><span style="font-weight:
normal">ow
do we move towards the good goal </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">that
“the people's” benefits (not the majority of the people who
voted
in the Nazis in Germany, I add, without offering at the same
time a
rationale for my personal opinion here) are </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">central</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">?</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">It
is
on this background that I well understand </span><span
style="font-weight: normal">the</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">
short statement (which is open to misunderstandings</span><span
style="font-weight: normal">)
about Internet Governance</span><span style="font-weight:
normal">:</span></p>
<pre class="western">“<span style="font-weight: normal">Multistakeholderism </span><b>*IS*</b><span style="font-weight: normal"> the highest form of participatory democracy”</span></pre>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal">If
it
is not – so what else, and how?<br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-weight: normal"><br>
Norbert Klein<br>
Phnom Penh/Cambodia<br>
<br>
</span></p>
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On 10/1/2012 7:59 PM, michael gurstein wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:04e201cd9fd4$93de6080$bb9b2180$@gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Wolfgang and all,
I`ve just had an opportunity to observe at somewhat close hand a series of
multi-stakeholder processes at work (in Agriculture planning) in several
African countries... I was quite impressed for a number of reasons which I
won`t go into here (I`m currently working on the report...
However, one conclusion that I would draw is that while
`multi-stakeholderism` is in at least some instances very effective as an
inclusive, let`s say `participative` management tool it is very far from
what I, or I think almost anyone would call ``democratic`` (unless, as in
some I think, quite perverse instances, one chooses to conflate the notions
of management with democracy).
The problem is that while multi-stakeholderism is inclusive of interests it
is not necessarily accountable or representative of or for those interests.
So for example, while a national or reagional farmers` union might be a very
effective stakeholder representative of the interests of small holder
farmers the precise process of accountability and representivity is in many
instances a very open question subject to for example, the personailities of
individuals, literacy, access to media and information, political
interference etc. etc. The latter caveats do not preclude the former
affirmations but they do strongly bracket the degree to which such processes
could at all be called ``democratic`` at least within any definition of the
term that I (or I would expect most of us) would understand.
I think your broad objective of pursuing a framework for multi-stakeholder
governance of the Internet is a worthwhile one and one I hope to contribute
to in Baku, however, I think a useful outcome of that initiative would still
leave open the question of overall democractic governance and accountability
of the Internet.
Best,
Mike</pre>
</blockquote>
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