[governance] multistakeholderism Re: [] Net neutrality on mobiles

[Avri Doria]

Hi,

I begin to despair (at least a little) as I see more and more leaders in Civil society join some of the governments in the condemnation of the multistakeholder model.    To see and hear people undercutting the very modality that gives them a seat at the international, regional and nation tables where policy is discuss and made is unfathomable to me.

Some people argue that the multistakeholder model is in contravention to democracy.  i see it as one way of democracy.

Democracy in the simplest form that so many argue for, only works when it is done within a constitution framework of some sort (does not need to be a Constitution, could be a set of Basic Laws or some other instrument) that defines the constraints on absolute democracy and that guarantees the fundamental rights of people.   

Democracy in its simplest form means 1 person 1 vote and majority wins.  But we have seen time and time again the basic majorities are hungry to remove the rights, and more, of minorities - they do it all the time.  We have also seen time and time again that a democracy without an informed polity does not remain a democracy for long but devolves in a dictatorship of personality.

Multistakeholderism is a fundamentally democratic form that functions in environments where there is no overarching constitutional instrument.   It is something that allows any person in the world, or group of people, to have a say and a seat at the table.  Sometimes it sounds like people confuse multistakeholder with multishareholder.  The multistakeholder model allow everyone to get involved in discussing and creating policy whether they have a financial stake or not, and whether they are part of some organized group or not.  Yes, outreach  and capacity must be done to reach the number of people who can participate, but that does not dismiss the participation of those who have made it to the table and continue to do outreach and capacity building to bring in others.

Brand me a techno-utopian but I proudly believe the Internet is fundamentally different from any other social structure the world as ever seen in many respects, a fundamental one being its capacity to be global and borderless - though governments are working very hard to force it into borders and way too many people are helping them.  To give up that uniqueness and cast it in the restrictive forms of telecommunications is frightening to me.  The Internet is also the first time creating a global multistakeholder modality has even been possible.  The utopian, and philosophical technologist, in me still hopes that the world can learn something new about governance from the Internet as opposed to allowing the wretched history of current governance models to overtake it and destroy it.

a.____________________________________________________________
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