Beyond Internet Governance: The Emerging International Framework for Governing the Networked World

Abstract:     
Increasingly, governments are regulating the "Net" - that is, the Internet and people's activities over it. Because the Net is global in nature, governments are turning to intergovernmental organizations to iron out common approaches. Taken together, these international Net initiatives foray into all areas of government traditionally dealt with by domestic regimes - addressing foreign commercial relations, jurisdiction, infrastructure, security, monetary authority, property, relations between private parties, and citizenship.

In agreeing to participate in these federated, power-sharing arrangements, governments are gradually constructing an entire framework for governing the networked world. Given the importance of these rules for the future, those who hold freedom dear must work to build democratic values into this emerging international system.

Keywords: Internet governance, integration, international federalism, networked world, Tunis Agenda

JEL Classifications: F02, K33, O30

Working Paper Series