Abstract
Frequently discussions over the procedural and institutional framework for Internet governance resemble voyages into the great unknown, as if Internet governance is a topic so novel that other fields can offer no insights on how to proceed. Of course, Internet governance is a complex task, taking into account not just the global dimension of the phenomenon (and with it diverging values across numerous nations), but also its topology resting on a network without clearly defined control bottlenecks that enable governance enforcement.And yet, the Internet is not the only phenomenon with these characteristics. Other areas of governance are similarly experiencing shifts and reconfigurations, for example when governance is extended across well established organizational borders, and supposed to cope with a much broader set of actors defining rules and effecting compliance. Tapping into the conceptual and empirical work that has gone on in these areas may facilitate the effective build up of Internet governance structures, as well as help us understand what such structures can and cannot possibly achieve.This paper aims at contributing to this cross-disciplinary debate by laying out theoretical and empirical lessons from the field of e-participation that may offer insights for what Internet governance structures and processes can hope to achieve.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call