[governance] Workshop on the role of Government in IG
William Drake
william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch
Tue Mar 24 05:37:33 EDT 2009
Hi Bertrand,
I have a slightly different view. I've always thought the "respective
roles" bit is the single worst part of the definition, one that
confuses much more than it clarifies. We put this in the WGIG report
at the insistence of a couple of developing country reps who wanted to
establish that policy is for governments full stop, and when we spent
an afternoon trying to specify what those respective roles really
were, the discussion quickly revealed abundant ambiguities and
overlaps. Many of the functions listed for each actor is or should be
shared across them, so the whole effort ultimately seemed like a just
a political sop to folks who had a rather restrictive vision of the
relationship between state and society. Hence, from the standpoint of
promoting multistakeholderism et al, I can't help wondering whether re-
fetishizing these artificial categories and trying to specify how they
apply in different issue spaces, stages etc would really be such a
constructive activity...?
Best,
Bill
On Mar 24, 2009, at 10:18 AM, Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Interesting exchange. And a good progressive refinement on the
> topic. This is clearly something of interest for all stakeholders.
>
> Such a workshop clearly would build upon the now famous IG
> definition of art. 34 of the TAIS:
>
> A working definition of Internet governance is the development and
> application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in
> their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-
> making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use
> of the Internet.
>
> There is considerable discussion about what the "respective roles"
> are and Article 35 is not completely satisfactory in that respect.
>
> I have always argued that the "respective roles" of the different
> stakeholders can (and should) vary according to : the issue, the
> venue where it is discussed and the stage of the discussion. Such a
> workshop would probably benefit from exploring in some detail those
> various dimensions, to move beyond the classic oppositions on
> abstract principles into more operational territory.
>
> In particular, there is a sort of symmetry between the ICANN space
> where governments want more say and more traditional IGOs where CS
> and business want more say. This is all about "embodiment of the
> WSIS principles in Internet Governance processes".
>
> An important element is to define what is the expected outcome of
> the workshop and in which of the categories identified in the MAG
> discussions it fits : probably the one where actors know the
> different elements of the debate but simply do not agree ... yet.
> Hence the format could be more an open discussion than a panel of
> experts. But a key factor of success will be to make sure that all
> the different viewpoints are represented in the room.
>
> A way to do this would probably be to outreach ahead of time to a
> range of key stakeholders to promote the workshop and make sure that
> they will attend.
>
> Important thread.
>
> Best
>
> Bertrand
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 9:50 AM, Parminder
> <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
> >Role of Governments in IG is an interesting topic and needs to be
> discussed. But in the context of multi-stakeholderism, why would the
> Caucus single out >Government and propose a theme "Role of
> Governments in IG" ?
>
> I agree, the workshop should be on a title something like
>
> "Global IG - the role of the governments, civil society and the
> private sector'.
>
> Just interrogating the role of governments is either reducing IG to
> CIR management, or, if we are speaking of all aspects of IG, it is
> a bit presumptuous, in the sense that governments obviously see
> themselves in 'the' central role. We may want to challenge that,
> especially at the global level, but best to do with a workshop with
> the above kind of a title, that looking at the 'role of government
> in IG' which seem, at least to me, to suggest that it was something
> of a new and developing concept.
>
> Parminder
>
> Sivasubramanian Muthusamy wrote:
>>
>> Hello Ian
>>
>> Role of Governments in IG is an interesting topic and needs to be
>> discussed. But in the context of multi-stakeholderism, why would
>> the Caucus single out Government and propose a theme "Role of
>> Governments in IG" ?
>>
>> This moves the role of Governments center stage with the roles of
>> other stakeholder groups undiscussed.
>>
>> It would be more appropriate if the workshop is about the Role of
>> various stakeholder groups, as a part of which, the role of
>> Governments is debated.
>>
>> Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
>> http://isocmadras.blogspot.com
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 12:52 AM, Ian Peter
>> <ian.peter at ianpeter.com> wrote:
>> I also agree this is a good proposal. There are three dimensions –
>>
>>
>> appropriate regulation/governmental involvement at a national level
>> international co-operation of governments
>> governmental involvement in global multistakeholder structures
>>
>> On the former – I know how this is organized at a national level
>> differs vastly from country to country. Has anyone done a detailed
>> study on this we could suggest for a panel?
>>
>>
>> Similarly on the latter two – what are the current areas of
>> international co-operation across various organizations? Has anyone
>> a good study on this?
>>
>>
>> A couple of good introductory studies would be the key to a
>> successful workshop here.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Ian Peter
>>
>> PO Box 429
>>
>> Bangalow NSW 2479
>>
>> Australia
>>
>> Tel (+614) 1966 7772 or (+612) 6687 0773
>>
>> www.ianpeter.com
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Ginger Paque [mailto:gpaque at gmail.com]
>> Sent: 23 March 2009 05:19
>> To: governance at lists.cpsr.org
>> Subject: [governance] Workshop on the role of Government in IG
>>
>>
>> Please post your interest and ideas for a workshop on the role of
>> government in IG on this thread.
>>
>> Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu
>>
>> I think a WS on the role of Government in IG is useful for the IGF,
>> and for civil society to be the initiators. I see echoes of this
>> theme in current discussions of G7-G20, discussions of ICANN-GAC,
>> discussions of different actions of national governments, forum
>> shopping, etc.
>>
>> Ralf Bendrath <bendrath at zedat.fu-berlin.de
>>
>> This would spark an interesting discussion, indeed. But please do not
>> equate "Internet Governance" with "ICANN" and only talk about the
>> MAG and
>> the JPA. ;-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Ginger
>>
>>
>> Ms. Virginia (Ginger) Paque
>>
>> DiploFoundation
>>
>> Coordinator IGCBP 09
>>
>>
>> www.diplomacy.edu/ig
>>
>> VirginiaP at diplomacy.edu
>>
>>
>>
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>
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>
>
> --
> ____________________
> Bertrand de La Chapelle
> Délégué Spécial pour la Société de l'Information / Special Envoy for
> the Information Society
> Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes/ French Ministry of
> Foreign and European Affairs
> Tel : +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32
>
> "Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de
> Saint Exupéry
> ("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")
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***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch
New book: Governing Global Electronic Networks,
http://tinyurl.com/5mh9jj
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