Global internet governance and the public interest in communication.

摘要

Centred on an extensive case study of the multiple and competing perspectives that emerged over the course of the controversial internet governance negotiations that dominated the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), this thesis examines how the global debate on internet governance influences the public interest in communication.;It is suggested that the WSIS redefined a narrow debate over the management of a series of internet technical functions as a more broad public policy field of global internet governance. It is argued that the public interest in global internet governance however is process-focused and preoccupied with the political welfare of various stakeholders. The direct and indirect implications for understanding the larger public interest in communication are considered. In conclusion, this thesis reflects on the programmatic implications for the media and communication studies research agenda.;Keywords: global internet governance; internet regulation; globalization; global governance; digital technology; communication policy; political economy of communication; World Summit on the Information Society; public interest;On the basis of extensive participant observation, targeted semi-structured interviews and analyses of a range of formal and informal documents associated with the WSIS, this thesis reviews the emergence of the issue of internet governance at the WSIS and provides an in-depth accounting of the negotiations that followed. Lawrence Lessig's theory of "code is law" is applied in explaining how various actors debated and ultimately reached conclusions about the boundaries between normative public policy issues and questions of technical regulation and management. The evolution of the debate over global internet governance since the conclusion of the WSIS is also discussed. On the basis of this case study, a series of conclusions are drawn about the actors and institutional characteristics that influenced the WSIS negotiations on internet governance.