[governance] Re: [bestbits] RSVP - discussion of governance mechanisms (was Re: substantive proposals for Brazil summit - IG)

[Ian Peter]

That's a great article, Parminder, and points to the dangers of 
multistakeholderism being taken over by corporate interests. A real and 
present danger.

But doesn't the same danger exist within the nation state system we call 
democracy? In my country at least (Australia), we have a history of Murdoch 
media telling people who to vote for, and they follow. We also have a long 
history of governments of all political persuasions bowing to corporate 
interests in determining policy, with all too frequent outbreaks of corrupt 
payments to politicians and political parties. The power of corporate 
"donations", from what I can see, is even worse in some other countries.

And of course the history of the UN is hardly one of real equitable 
arrangements between these corruptible nation states either.

The article you quote alludes to this problem, stating  as regards nation 
states ; "A ‘global redesign’ is no doubt needed, but one that should 
genuinely reflect “everybody’s business” by preventing business interests 
from crowding the public out of the tent ".

I couldn't agree more.

For us I think the lesson is that multistakeholderism is, like any form of 
governance, highly corruptible .

The term multistakeholder appears to have entered or vocabulary in about 
2004. As Markus Kummer points out, "it is worth mentioning that in the 
discussions on Internet governance during the first phase of WSIS, the term 
usually used to describe the existing arrangements was “private 
sector-leadership”, in line with the language used in the setting up of the 
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)".

It should be remembered then that the term multistakeholder was retrofitted 
to existing internet governance, rather than being a central design element.

Ian Peter





-----Original Message----- 
From: parminder
Sent: Sunday, February 09, 2014 5:02 PM
To: bestbits at lists.bestbits.net ; governance at lists.igcaucus.org
Subject: Re: [bestbits] RSVP - discussion of governance mechanisms (was Re: 
substantive proposals for Brazil summit - IG)


please read this carefully. This is what multistakeholderism is all about

http://www.tni.org/article/not-everybodys-business

The WEF at Davos is its prototype, and it is certainly post-democratic..

Hope civil society  groups (the IG kind) wake up before it is too late,
and history questions its role in subverting democracy.

parminder



On Saturday 08 February 2014 12:10 PM, michael gurstein wrote:
> I also have concerns with those who don't insist on full accountability 
> and transparency for multistakeholder processes or who equate an 
> insistence on accountability and transparency as somehow being 
> "opposition" to those processes.
>
> M
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bestbits-request at lists.bestbits.net 
> [mailto:bestbits-request at lists.bestbits.net] On Behalf Of Avri Doria
> Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 10:34 PM
> To: bestbits at lists.bestbits.net
> Subject: Re: [bestbits] RSVP - discussion of governance mechanisms (was 
> Re: substantive proposals for Brazil summit - IG)
>
>
>
> On 07-Feb-14 14:06, Ian Peter wrote:
>
>> that can hide behind multistakeholderism (or even behind opposition to
>> multistakeholderism)
>
> Thanks you for include the parenthetical.  To be honest that is my greater 
> concerns.
>
> avri
>
>







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