[governance] Blogpost: Multistakeholderism vs. Democracy: My Adventures in "Stakeholderland"

[David Allen]

This was put forward as basis to specify the mission:

On Mar 22, 2013, at 3:39 AM

> ...
> the lack of clear principles on methodology
> ...


Method is always important - but the discussion has been about  
purpose.  Before method.

For a reason.  A folksy saying reminds:  "If we don't know where we  
are going, any road will take us there ..."

First, we establish purpose.  Only after purpose is clear, then method  
may figure out how we get to that objective.  Otherwise, ...


The second blogpost goes straight to the question of purpose.

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/in-defense-of-multistakeholder-processes/

The question, in a nutshell, to define purpose:  What role may MS  
possibly have in a democracy?

Certainly not MS as a replacement - not, as for instance, the stance  
of the US exiting WCIT, in Kramer's sign-off.

MS, not as the policy-making mechanism.

Rather - perhaps - as a means toward greater engagement, within a  
democracy, as that second blogpost discusses.

Policy is set by, and reserved to, democratic means.


With, then, perhaps some clarity on purpose for MS - method can become  
the topic.

______


The eventual discussion of method, premature now, found fodder -  
nonetheless - in the below:

So, let's say it again:

“… the T/A stakeholder group includes probably no more than 3-400  
people in the entire world …"

Sizes of the stakeholder groups are most starkly lopsided.  Their  
constituencies, T/A compared with the other three.  Different by a  
number of orders of magnitude.  T/A is in the thousands.  CS /  
business / governments are in the hundreds of millions, billions.

Starting with the facts is the first step.

Then, after the stark lopsidedness, representation.  How would these  
three, or four, tribes represent each of their groups?  Who will?

The standard:  Hard-won democratic governance has developed strenuous  
procedures for elections.  In cases - for an example - where a society  
has yet to learn / adopt suitable procedures, international observers  
arrive and oversee election processes.  To insure fair representation.

Then, to suppose representation via a club of 'usual suspects,'  
perhaps three or four times a few dozen - a hundred or so in total -  
points at some of the worst of tribal outcomes.  Clubby, elitist  
control of power, where mutual back-scratching proscribes serious  
critical analysis.  Where interests served become private and  
individual, not the public interest.  Such has been, across history,  
the path to some of the most despised outcomes.

David


On Mar 21, 2013, at 5:56 PM:

> Well yes, that was my point. You are going to find the usual  
> suspects from each of these communities, and that makes it a few  
> dozen each.
>
>
> On 22-Mar-2013, at 2:13:
>
>> Hi David,
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 3:12 PM, David Allen
>> <David_Allen_AB63 at post.harvard.edu> wrote:
>>> The T/A definition from its focal point:
>>> "... scientists who developed the Internet and the technical
>>> organizations/people who run it."
>>>
>>> Which is the starting point for doing the counting.
>>
>> ok, but realistically, I would bet that the pool of acceptable
>> candidates would be closer to 30-40.
>>
>> I would say that this applies to CS and biz SGs as well.
>>
>> If we were to do an analysis of who has "represented" the 3 non-gov
>> SGs over the last decade in these UN fora I would be surprised if it
>> were more than 30-40 from each SG.
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