Arresting the Decline of Multi-Stakeholderism in Internet Governance

Abstract

The last decade was marked by significant new opportunities for civil society to represent the public interest within existing public institutions involved in information and communications policy development, such as the OECD and WIPO, as well as within new public and private institutions such as the Internet Governance Forum and ICANN. But the turn of the decade has seen regression, as governments have begun to push back against civil society claims for equal representation in policy fora, have shifted key discussions to less inclusive fora, and raised questions over whether the multi-stakeholder model is working if it does not give primacy to governmental interests. Concurrently, some activists too have given up hope of having their interests represented within public policy institutions, and have resorted to unilateral and extra-legal methods of voicing dissent, as seen in the campaigns of groups like Anonymous. As for the private sector, its support for the multi-stakeholder governance model remains as tentative as it has always been. Does the retreat of all stakeholder groups from multi-stakeholder engagement with each other suggest the failure of the multi-stakeholder experiment, or just a temporary roadbump? This paper addresses this question by mapping the decline of the multi-stakeholder model over the past several years within the specific context of the Internet governance regime, and considering options for civil society to intervene to prevent its disintegration. Strategies considered include work on a framework document for public participation in Internet governance, more efficient targeting of civil society's representational capacity, campaigning to reform institutions that currently do not provide effective mechanisms for public interest representation, and forging strategic alliances between civil society and powerful private and public actors with financial or political interests in the success of the multi-stakeholder model.