Abstract
This special issue is the first to systematically address the activity we call “normfare” - the assiduous development of norms of very different character (public and private, formal and informal, technically mediated and directly implemented) by different actors (platforms, standard-setters, states) as an answer to the wide range of challenges facing internet governance. We bring together contributions from leading anthropologists, technologists, political scientists, legal and communication scholars exploring how norms underpin the new ordering of the internet, whether in explicit or implicit forms. Through various theoretical lenses, contributions analyze the impact of platforms, states, civil society, expert groups and key individuals on restructuring the normative order of the internet, and present empirical evidence for instances of norm creation, legitimation, contestation and opposition. Valuable new insights for norm development processes come from case studies, ethnographies, legal and discourse analysis and interdisciplinary approaches locating agency and power plays. In this introduction, we define the key concepts applicable to norm entrepreneurship and discuss their interplay in internet governance debates, followed by an overview of the articles included in the special issue. In the final section, we reflect on the implications of our new research agenda.
Highlights
This special issue is the first to systematically address the activity we call “normfare” - the assiduous development of norms of very different character by different actors as an answer to the wide range of challenges facing internet governance
We bring together contributions from leading anthropologists, technologists, political scientists, legal and communication scholars exploring how norms underpin the new ordering of the internet, whether in explicit or implicit forms
Contributions analyze the impact of platforms, states, civil society, expert groups and key individuals on restructuring the normative order of the internet, and present empirical evidence for instances of norm creation, legitimation, contestation and opposition
Summary
Asking what an adequate internet ordering should be and how it could be achieved is by no means a new debate (Goldsmith & Wu, 2006; Zittrain, 2009; Mueller, 2010; Radu et al, 2014). In response to threats of digital fragmentation and polarization, this new phase of internet governance builds on a deeper understanding of ‘digital cooperation’ (UNSG 2020) and on the current momentum for strengthening trust in online activities via cyber norms, an interest shared by governments, industry and non-for-profit actors alike It is characterized by a wide proliferation of normative discussions, covering topics as diverse as the application of international law to cyber operations and the development of artificial intelligence tools. Building on Kettemann (2020), who draws on foundational work by Forst & Günther (2011) we understand the normative order of the internet to be “a complex of norms, values and practices that relate to the use and development of the Internet, and with which the activities of, and relationships among, states, private companies and civil society, with regard to the use and development of the Internet are legitimated.” It does not imply a certain hierarchy of norms, but incorporates entrepreneurship as a role-specific influence that may vary in time or according to the circumstances. Right process is one way of formulating demands regarding the processes related to the genesis of norms
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