Towards a Humanistic Conception of Cyberspace. A Twofold Challenge for Netizens Mobilizing for a Democratic Internet Governance

15 Pages Posted: 22 Jun 2016

See all articles by Elena Pavan

Elena Pavan

University of Trento

Max Senges

Open University of Catalunya (UOC) (Open University of Catalonia) - Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Konstantinos Komaitis

Internet Society

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Date Written: 2008

Abstract

This paper addresses the challenge of how to approach internet governance from a multi-stakeholder perspective taking into account, at the same time, the peculiar conditions of the internet itself. More concretely its diversity, the dynamics and the complexity entailed in contemporary reform of global governance processes towards more open and participatory arrangements. We argue that the specific case study of internet governance can provide interesting insights on how collaborative patterns of interaction can nurture multi-actor politics also in different sectors. Our departure point is the recognition of the inherent social and human component of technology, in order to stress how technology can become, and actually has become, a global social issue soliciting interests from a plurality of actors who range from governmental institutions, passing through private sector entities and including the heterogeneous universe labeled as “civil society”. Specifically, as far as the internet case is concerned, we employ the idea of the internet as a Common-pool resource (CPR) and we will sketch out its composition joining together different kinds of commons: social, infrastructural, service and access. The simultaneous co-presence of these commons within the internet and Cyberspace is what implies the necessity of involving at the same time all competences necessary to their management thus bringing into the internet governance field heterogeneous and possibly clashing interests.

Keywords: GigaNet

Suggested Citation

Pavan, Elena and Senges, Max and Komaitis, Konstantinos, Towards a Humanistic Conception of Cyberspace. A Twofold Challenge for Netizens Mobilizing for a Democratic Internet Governance (2008). GigaNet: Global Internet Governance Academic Network, Annual Symposium 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2798966 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2798966

Elena Pavan (Contact Author)

University of Trento ( email )

Via Giuseppe Verdi 26
Trento, Trento 38100
Italy

Max Senges

Open University of Catalunya (UOC) (Open University of Catalonia) - Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) ( email )

Barcelona, Barcelona
Spain

Konstantinos Komaitis

Internet Society ( email )

Galerie Jean Malbuisson 15
Geneva, 1204
Switzerland

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