Global Dialogues, Paradigmatic Shifts, and Complexity: Emergent Contours of Theory and Praxis in Telecommunications Policy

Abstract

Dear Reader, The essay below began as an introspective piece after a year in residence (1997± 1998) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington DC. CSIS is one of the largest foreign policy think-tanks in Washington, with a centrist political philosophy and largely inhabited by former government of® cials (mainly drawn from the State Department, the Pentagon and Defense Department, the Executive Of® ces of the President, and various of® ces of the intelligence community). Having spent the past 20 years wandering the nexus of media history, international studies, and telecommunication policy this was a rare opportunity to both observe and occasionally participate in policy formation as practiced beyond the actual agencies of governance. In so doing, I became (and somewhat remain) a very minor member of a small and lively community with a vast range of opinions and ideologies who share a deep dedication toward trying to build a better world. I learned their old worldview of policy formation, based on a history of habits and actions shaped around the contours of the twentieth century and especially the Cold War, was disappearing before their eyes at an incredibly rapid rate. I learned that the disappearance of this old worldview was spurring a rich and diverse dialogue about the world that is arriving. The only constant in that dialogue was the need for new ways of thinking Ð about everything. While there was lively and occasionally contentious debate about the implementation of praxis, or policy formation, the ultimate questions for discussion often centered around questions of theory. I found, to my great surprise that more than a few participants (but far less than a majority) had more than passing familiarity with a vast range of late twentieth-century theorists. On occasion, the retired intelligence agency of® cial would suggest we think about issues rhizomatically. A career diplomat would muse on the difference between authenticity and simulation. Someone with a star or two on his shoulder would compare the netrocentric with the nomad. A lifelong wonk would return to the of® ce talking about his recent interviews with teenage hackers. Once, when I mentioned speeds and