The Governance of Internet Country Code Top Level Domains in Europe

Abstract

The Governance of Internet Country Code Top Level Domains in Europe Much academic work on governance in recent years has explored the responses which states have made to sectors of the economy, usually historically well-rooted nationally, which have been subject to globalizing pressures. Less work exists on the responses which are being made to new parts of the economy which emerge outside the nation state with inherently global characteristics. The Internet and specifically its naming and addressing system - provides an important example of how the state has aimed to assert public interest governance authority in a system initially absent its influence. Focusing on Europe, recent research by Christou and Simpson has explored the nature and consequences of this activity. A key finding of the research is that through working within the limitations - but also the opportunities - created by policy norms developed at the global level for Internet governance, the state in Europe has been instrumental in the development of novel public-private governance systems for Internet country code Top Level Domains. Multilateralism, the EU and the Evolving Global Governance of the Internet Whilst the global governance architecture for the Internet has evolved at pace in the last ten years, the EU's role and influence in its formation and development has been relatively understudied. Currently ongoing research by Christou and Simpson aims to contribute to closing this gap in the literature through an investigation of how the EU has sought to shape the emerging environment for Internet governance. The analytical lens utilised is 'multilateralism' and the EUs pursuit of it. The empirical focus is two related, though very different, international fora for the consideration of Internet governance matters, which are at different stages of institutionalisation: the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the Internet Governance Forum. The research is assessing the EUs performance in shaping the nature and functioning of these bodies through both strategic and normative means. Evidence exists of contradictions and constraints alongside opportunities for the EU in its efforts to develop and sustain its multilateral and leadership ambitions in these international fora. The research is particularly interested in the projection by the EU of its own normative model for the governance of the Internet and electronic network communication more broadly in the global institutional arena. It also considers the practical roles the EU can play in relatively new and emerging global governance institutions for the Internet.