[governance] ICANN stumbling on a hornet nest

[Karl Auerbach]

On 09/04/2012 12:48 AM, Rudi Vansnick wrote:
> Really a very good analytical view and summary ... basis for further
> discussion i would say.

Well to initiate that discussion let me throw out this thought:

Internet governance is about who gets to exercise power (and power's
right-hand, money).

Throughout history control of power and selection of those to exercise
that power have been the number one and number two issues for those who
study systems of governance.

In a sense these are questions of how one contains a battle and divides
the spoils of that battle.

Some try to manage and confine the battle.

Others try to use the dynamics of that battle to create systems in which
"ambition counters ambition".  Such, for example, is the mechanism
underlying the US Constitution with its "separation of powers".  (Many
other modern nations structure their systems of governance along these
principles.)

In our discussion on this thread it seems to me that Alejandro has been
the advocate of the managed point of view and I the advocate of the
"ambition counter ambition" point of view.

To my mind trying to control or manage the fight over who gets to be in
charge of power is to swim upriver against a strong current of human
nature.  And the power to manage can create an almost irresistible urge
in the managers to shape the outcome.

Under the way that ICANN initially tried to manage the election - by
requiring that all candidates be placed on the ballot by a nominating
committee - I would not even have been able to be a candidate.

How did I win the ICANN election?  By being the best candidate offering
the best platform and building a strong constituency of backers.

I formed a party with Barbara Simons and Larry Lessig - it did not
really matter to us which one of us won.  Our positions differed
slightly but interlocked so that our voices would aggregate and our
differences would give three dimensional depth to the issues.

We talked to the electorate - I traveled, at my own expense, across the
North American continent several times.  And I was an active participant
in debates, on discussion boards, on radio shows, in and interviews.

Another candidate (who would have made an excellent board member)
campaigned at a very local level.  (There is an amusing story how he
ordered a campaign banner that, in the style of the movie Spinal Tap,
was almost made 12x the requested size due to confusion over the units
of measurement.)

We were far from the most wealthy of the contestants - one candidate was
the head of a sizable intellectual protection body with large financial
resources.  He lost.  But I knew that in the next round of elections
(which were never held) that he would be far better organized and might win.

During my term I maintained strong contact with the electorate - Yes, I
was actively building a base for the next election.  That wasn't a
craven or improper act - it meant a better ICANN better in touch with
the community of internet users.

All in all I felt that the election of year 2000 for the North American
seat was a fine exercise in public democracy that deserved another round
in 2002.

That election did have some problems - mostly ICANN's very flawed voter
registration system that disenfranchised many people who tried to vote.
 Those could have been easily and relatively inexpensively repaired for
the election cycle two years hence.

I can't agree that the Asian experience with nationalist and corporate
efforts to get-out-the-vote were reason to abandon elections within
ICANN.  I don't agree with the implicit assertion that residents of a
country or workers for a corporation are automatons who are unable to
think for themselves.

And if some regions had low voter turnout - to me that is an opportunity
to do better next time not a reason to declare failure and close the shop.

In a good election candidates clearly state positions.  Clearly my
positions about ICANN's role and structure made some incumbents
uncomfortable.

	--karl--



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