[bestbits] new paper on Multistakeholder Internet Governance

Marilia Maciel mariliamaciel at gmail.com
Fri Nov 15 15:38:34 EST 2013


Thanks, Carol. I had the chance to see the presentation of this paper
during IGF Bali. Very interesting indeed.
Marília


On Fri, Nov 15, 2013 at 4:28 PM, Carolina Rossini <
carolina.rossini at gmail.com> wrote:

> http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2354377
>
> DeNardis, Dr. Laura and Raymond, Mark, Thinking Clearly About
> Multistakeholder Internet Governance (November 14, 2013). Available at
> SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=
>
> *Abstract: *
> Efforts to study and practice Internet governance start, virtually without
> exception, from the premise that the Internet is governed by an innovative,
> unusual (perhaps unique) ‘multistakeholder’ model. Preserving that model is
> a primary goal for the broader Internet community as well as for many
> governments, though not for all. Viewing multistakeholderism as a
> teleological goal for Internet governance creates several problems. First,
> multistakeholderism is often elevated as a value in itself rather than as a
> possible approach to meeting more salient public interest objectives such
> as preserving Internet interoperability, stability, security, and openness.
> Second, multistakeholder governance may not be appropriate in every
> functional area of Internet governance. Internet coordination is not a
> monolithic practice but rather a multilayered series of tasks of which some
> are appropriately relegated to the private sector, some the purview of
> traditional nation-state governance or international treaty negotiations,
> and some more appropriately multistakeholder. It is a misnomer to speak not
> only of multistakeholder governance but also of Internet governance as a
> single thing.
>
> The concept of multistakeholderism can also serve as a proxy for broader
> political struggles or be deployed as an impediment to the types of
> Internet coordination necessary to promote conditions of responsible
> governance. For example, governments with repressive information policies
> can advocate for top-down and formalized multistakeholderism to gain
> additional power in areas in which they have traditionally not had
> jurisdiction. These types of efforts can result in multilateral rather than
> multistakeholder approaches with non-governmental actors limited from
> participating in formal deliberations and lacking any meaningful voting
> power. Alternatively, companies and other actors with vested interests in
> current governance arrangements can deploy multistakeholderism in a manner
> either meant to exclude new entrants (whether public or private) with
> incommensurate interests and values or to preserve incumbent market
> advantage.
>
> This paper suggests that multistakeholderism should not be viewed as a
> value in itself applied homogenously to all Internet governance functions.
> Rather, the appropriate approach to responsible Internet governance
> requires determining what types of administration are optimal for promoting
> a balance of interoperability, innovation, free expression and operational
> stability in any particular functional and political context. Doing so
> requires conceptual and theoretical tools that have not yet been developed.
> Accordingly, the paper proceeds in three parts. First, it presents a more
> granular taxonomy and understanding of Internet governance functions –
> differentiating between, for example, cybersecurity governance, Internet
> standards setting, and the policymaking function of private information
> intermediaries. Second, it performs the same task of disaggregation with
> respect to multistakeholderism. It presents distinct varieties of
> multistakeholder Internet governance (which differ according to the
> varieties of actors involved and the nature of authority relations between
> them) and sets these arrangements in a broader context of modalities for
> accomplishing global governance in other issue areas. Such an approach
> contributes both to the study and practice of Internet governance, and to
> scholarship in International Relations and global governance.
>
> --
> *Carolina Rossini*
> *Project Director, Latin America Resource Center*
> Open Technology Institute
> *New America Foundation*
> //
> http://carolinarossini.net/
> + 1 6176979389
> *carolina.rossini at gmail.com*
> skype: carolrossini
> @carolinarossini
>
>
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-- 
*Marília Maciel*
Pesquisadora Gestora
Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade - FGV Direito Rio

Researcher and Coordinator
Center for Technology & Society - FGV Law School
http://direitorio.fgv.br/cts

DiploFoundation associate
www.diplomacy.edu
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