Is there a local dimension of Internet Governance? Policies and institutions in South American countries.

  • Aguerre C
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Abstract

The starting point of my research is the impact of national1 design, regulation and application of global Internet Governance issues in the development of the Internet community in countries which have not been leading players in Information Society. The main focus is in middle-income countries of South America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. One of the first features that comes out of the analysis of Internet Governance issues is the global dimension of the field. Usually global issues have little chances of being well discussed and implemented in developing countries because of the difficulty to follow the debates and attend international fora. How global IG policies are adapted and translated in these countries is a question for analysis. Possibly ccTLDs and ISPs have an important role to play in the users perception of the Internet. Who acts as a broker between the global IG policies which are followed by (most) governments, many global firms, NGOs (local and international) and other international organizations such as ICANN, UNESCO and ITU? Are there any differences with other developed countries in terms of organizational compromise with the local adaptation of IG issues in middle income developing countries? Another dimension which I am also taking into account are the national, political and institutional models that might favour certain practices and which are inhibitors for the in-country deployment of IG. The impact of local media models and telecommunications structure is another. In Argentina for example, telecommunications, the post and the media (broadcast and press) are clearly under the domain and regulatory influence of three different institutions, while in Uruguay all three are under one (URSEC). The media and telecommunications tend to work and lobby for different models of access and Internet content. The relationship between these variables (functioning of national institutions; the performance of ISPs and ccTLDs; business policies by multinational firms; NGO advocacy) might lead to the development of a framework for the understanding of local factors that are shaping the Internet communitys perceptions of Internet Governance (in a latu sensu, i.e., including other dimensions other than the administration of the DNS). Possibly the local adaptation/translation and actual policy-making of the Internet might have little influence on Internet Governance. In that sense it might be useful to have more knowledge about local processes in order to know the capabilities of developing, middle-income societies to address this issue.

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APA

Aguerre, C. (2008). Is there a local dimension of Internet Governance? Policies and institutions in South American countries. In 1st International Giganet Workshop.

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