[governance] Internetistan, or the Bit Boat... a new approach to Internet governance!

[Jovan Kurbalija]

Well, we have innovation!  With the IGF in Bali, and ICANN on a cruise 
ship, we may have 'beach or floating governance'. Internet governance 
could be fun!

I like the metaphor of the ship since it implies our common destiny. We 
are all passengers of ICANNia or ITUnia or...*?*       Metaphors are 
also useful to remove our tunnel vision and make us think more 
creatively. In another metaphor, I hope that Internetistan will resist 
Absurdistan (here is the map of this fast-growing country 
<http://diplo.smugmug.com/ILLUSTRATIONS/Posters-1/4464706_T4FW6r#%21i=1104113260&k=2GsD8hV&lb=1&s=A>). 


But back to the current reality. Unfortunately, the ICANN cruise ship 
won't solve the problem of internationalisation. 'Open sea' refers only 
to freedom of navigation. It does not deal with the status of the ship. 
All relations on the ship are regulated by the national law of the 
ship's flag. ICANNia has to be registered somewhere. One solution could 
be a flag of convenience such as Liberia or Panama.  What happens on the 
ICANNia is regulated by national law, with no major differences from any 
other land-based entity (company, organisation). Yes, ICANNia can sail 
in whatever direction it wants to sail, but the decision must be made by 
the captain according to the rules of the flag's state. Extrapolating 
from the role of the captain on the ship, the ICANNia would look like 
military unit. The cruise ship metaphor gets even more interesting  when 
we consider different classes of cabins, rescue operations, etc.

These thoughts have taken me back to Hugo Grotius's book /Mare Liberum/ 
that established the "open sea" concept four centuries ago as opposed to 
the idea of a /Mare Nostrum/. **His relevance for our time is sobering. 
If we replace 'sea' with 'Internet' we could have the next book on the 
Internet. Grotius was a very interesting personality.** Besides being 
one of the first international lawyers, he was one of the founders of 
the 'natural law' school of thought.  In addition, he wrote a lot about 
social contract (before Rousseau, Locke, and others). As a matter of 
fact, his social contract theory could be applicable to the Internet.

When it comes to the concept of open sea, Grotius had an interesting 
interplay with the political masters of his era.  He believed in open 
sea, but Dutch and British authorities quickly realised the usefulness 
of his doctrine. They had the biggest fleets and had ambitions to 
develop trade and colonial empires. Grotius provided them with the 
necessary doctrine or 'political software'.  However, Grotius always 
argued that 'open sea' needs rules and principles in order to be 'open'. 
Although it was counter-intuitive to the leaders of two growing maritime 
powers, he managed to convince them that it was in their best interest 
to 'tame' their comparative powers and ensure the sustainability of 
their empires beyond the 17th century. Everything else has written the 
history, which proved Grotius right. We can draw many parallels, with 
the necessary caution that historical analogies should be handled with 
care.

While we are waiting for a new Grotius (or Godot), we should review how 
we debate Internet governance issues. Grotius was a great scholar who 
mastered the existing rules before he started changing them. We, on the 
other hand, use well-defined and developed concepts in a relaxed way. A 
few examples...

As we saw, the frequently used metaphor of the open sea does not 
translate to an open Internet. In many respects, it can lead in the 
opposite direction (Internet Nostrum).

Another example is the role of states' responsibility in the Internet 
era. This is a well-defined concept in international law. If we want 
states to be responsible for whatever is originating in their 
territories  (e.g. cyber-attacks, botnets),  we have to give them the 
tools to ensure their responsibility (mainly state control, regulation, 
and surveillance). Most writings on state responsibility start from the 
opposite assumption, i.e. the limited role of the state. With all the 
creativity and imagination in the world, we still cannot have it both ways.

The most topical example of the need for evidence-based policy is the 
case of the Red Cross name/emblem at ICANN. There are very clear rules 
for the protection of the Red Cross name/emblem that were adopted some 
100 years ago and have been followed, without reservation, on national 
and international levels.  ICANN was right in protecting the Red Cross 
name but made the mistake of putting it together with organisations that 
do not enjoy the same status (the International Olympic Committee).

Even if we want to change the rules in order to adjust to 
the specificities of the Internet era (if any), we have first to master 
them. I see here an important role for academic and civil society 
communities. If we had advised ICANN to evaluate the Red Cross and IOC 
submissions separately, we could have avoided a lot of policy confusion 
and wasted time.

The GIGANET might consider the evidence-based policy research as the key 
theme for the next meeting?

Regards, Jovan


On 12/6/12 3:31 PM, McTim wrote:
> All,
>
> If domiciling ICANN in a nation state is problematic, perhaps ICANN 
> could buy this cruise ship as a HQ:
>
> http://cruiseship.homestead.com/Cruise-Ship.html
>
> It would help solve the problem of internationalisation, be a 
> permanent host for ICANN meetings (2450 berths....saving hotel costs 
> for all) and generate revenue intersessionally.  It's a 3-fer, plus 
> it's a snip @~ 300 million USD!!
>
>
> -- 
> Cheers,
>
> McTim
> "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A 
> route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel

-- 

*Jovan Kurbalija, PhD*

Director, DiploFoundation

Rue de Lausanne 56 *| *1202 Geneva*|***Switzerland

*Tel.*+41 (0) 22 7410435 *| **Mobile.*+41 (0) 797884226

*Email: *jovank at diplomacy.edu*| **Twitter:*@jovankurbalija

*The latest from Diplo:*today – this week – this month 
<http://www.diplomacy.edu/currently> *l* Conference on Innovation in 
Diplomacy (Malta, 19-20 November 2012) 
<http://www.diplomacy.edu/conferences/innovation> *l *new online courses 
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