[governance] Ad hoc Best Bits strategy meeting tomorrow lunchtime

[David Cake]

On 25/10/2013, at 2:05 AM, Milton L Mueller <mueller at SYR.EDU> wrote:

> 
> All
> 
> It would be a mistake to let this discussion degenerate into categorizations of empty stakeholder abstractions: governments as "upholders of human rights" (cough!), technical community as good or bad, etc. This is one of the truly silly things about the decision the I* organizations made to label the proper approach to Internet governance as "the multistakeholder model."

Yes. We have a range of quite different models that might be called multi-stakeholder, and an even broader range of mechanisms that can be made to fit into a multi-stakeholder ecosystem without, itself, being directly multi-stakeholder. 

> As if there were "the" single model (there isn't), as if multistakeholderism actually described IETF (it doesn't), as if the presence of multiple stakeholders in a process automatically means good, freedom and efficiency-enhancing governance (it doesn't). 

	No one who has closely observed the ICANN GNSO would ever think multi-stakeholderism automatically translates into goodness, freedom and efficiency.
	Multi-stakeholderism is a clumsy label. Parts of the current system are formally multi-stakeholder, parts are very open, and parts are perhaps a closely guarded club that is justified by some notion of 'meritocracy' (and parts - such as the GAC - are even multi-lateral). I argued the point in Bali several times that everyone is much clearer on what we are avoiding (government centric multilateralism) than what we are seeking. And that is just fine at this point. If we are still that unclear after the Brazil meeting, then that might be more of a problem. 

> Talking about "techies" - either pro or con - is just not helpful at this point. Same goes for claims regarding "civil society." Better to talk about specific values and objectives and how VERY SPECIFIC institutional mechanisms contribute to them, or not. There is some legitimate space for concern about who is represented in meetings and decision making, and I very much do share Jeremy's concern about the I* organizations running away with the ball, but finger-pointing regarding stakeholder categories is pointless.

	The 'Technical Community Role in Global Internet Governance' workshop on Thursday made it fairly clear that the division between technical community and civil society (or other stakeholder groups) is a fairly artificial one, with many of us filling a variety of different roles at different times, and technical organisations often acting very much as part of civil society. And with many 'techies' in civil society or other stakeholder groups (I've got a comp sci degree etc myself, so I'm an example), and policy wonks and lawyers working for technical community orgs. The way we organise division between stakeholder categories is artificial - and while it can be useful to ensure balance, it can create as many problems as it solves. We've discussed many times the problems of artificial divisions within ICANN leading to division, siloization, and pointless competition for resources between groups that might otherwise be allies. Avri brought up in that workshop the argument (that will be very familiar to you, Milton, but perhaps not to others) that more dynamic interest groups etc might often be far more useful and appropriate than the fairly simple and rigid notions of stakeholder groups that we have now. 

	It is worth bearing in mind as we proceed with this process that the stakeholder group categories etc are very artificial and there are many different options to approaching it,  that multi-stakeholderism is a very broad, vague description that doesn't tell you much without a lot more detail. 

	Cheers

		David

	
	
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