[governance] Towards an Internet Social Forum

[michael gurstein]

Unfortunately Jeremy, your "balanced framing" begs the most fundamental questions, which I, at least, have been asking for some specific answer for, for some time (this is at least the 3rd time that I have presented the following questions in one or another form).  

Perhaps now would be a good time for you or someone to actually give some detail on what is meant by:
a. multstakeholder models--which ones, how are they structured, what are the internal/external accountability mechanisms etc.etc.--you know the normal things that people might expect to know if they are being asked to commit their and our futures to these "models"--or are we all now to give up these questions since the elites have decided that these matters are of interest and are seeming to be proceeding with or without the consent of the governed.

b. democratic representation--okay, now you have used the "D" word--what exactly do you mean and how does this fit into the above "models" (and please no vague hand waving about an equally undefined "participatory democracy"

c.  "global Internet governance in which governments ... not a priori have the lead role"--who in the absence of governments then does have the lead role, how is their role determined, who decides who has the lead role in which circumstance, how (if at all) are those alternatively in the "lead role" to be held externally accountable, what are their internal processes of accountability in these alternative modalities, how is representitivity/inclusivity maintained/ensured (or perhaps it doesn't matter?) in the absence of some form of anchored democratic processes.

I don't mean these questions argumentatively but rather these are some of the questions that need to be answered before any kind of discussion of these kinds can go forward.  (Simply "answering" them through the creation of "facts" in reality a la the NMI only makes the issues more fraught and difficult to address in reality although perhaps not in theory since the actors and actions involved tosses the theoretical underpinnings into stark relief.)

BTW, it would be good if the evidently closed loop of self-reflexive IG think tanks etc. --the WEF/NMI, the Bildt Commission or whatever it's called, ICANN's various internal too-ing and fro-ings could use some of their expense account zillions to actually address some of these rather fundamental issues in a way that actually recognized the internal controversies and external oppositions.

M 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org [mailto:governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org] On Behalf Of Jeremy Malcolm
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 1:42 PM
To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org
Subject: Re: [governance] Towards an Internet Social Forum

On 5/02/2015 12:08 pm, David Allen wrote:
> There is, and has been, an entirely fundamental divide, separating two camps within the civil society gathered here.  Without putting too fine a point on it, on the one side are those who see multi-stakeholderism as a complete solution; on the other side, democracy is the starting point.

If anyone will raise their hand and agree with that framing of the former perspective as encapsulating their views, then I guess you have framed it fairly.  If not (anyone?) then can I suggest a more balanced framing of that perspective: those who advocate for the development of multi-stakeholder models of democratic representation in global Internet governance in which governments do not a priori have the lead role (though in appropriate cases they may).

--
Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Global Policy Analyst
Electronic Frontier Foundation
https://eff.org
jmalcolm at eff.org

Tel: 415.436.9333 ext 161

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