[discuss] What is MSism?

Fri Mar 28 13:19:37 UTC 2014

Hi McTim,

Am 28.03.2014 13:07, schrieb McTim:
> <cc list trimmed as per good netiquette>

> Your insistence that MSism is a new pheonomenon in IG ignores the
> history of the past 40 years.

I'd say it is a new term for a phenomenon much older than the past 40 
years. Parliamentary hearings, for example, often follow the 
multistakeholder approach. So does the German parliamentary inquiry 
commission. What seems more recent is the idea to adapt this model to 
transnational regulation.
>
> It is clear that many of us (most of us I am guessing) on 1Net prefer
> direct democracy:

Is it? I certainly wouldn't. I think it is impossible for a modern 
complex society to govern itself solely through direct forms of 
democracy. It is not even clear whether direct democracy would be more 
democratic given the little interest large parts of society have in 
matters of collective concern.

Global issues such as the management of the IANA functions will probably 
never attract attention beyond a small minority. Concepts such as 
representative versus direct democracy might be simply too big for the 
small community dealing with this issue. Still, the future process and 
the institutional architecture have to be transparent, reliable, 
accountable and thus legitimate.

jeanette

>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy
>
> Direct democracy (also known as pure democracy)[1] is a form of
> democracyin which people decide (e.g. vote on, form consensus on,
> etc.) policy initiatives directly, as opposed to arepresentative
> democracy in which people vote for representatives who then decide
> policy initiatives.[2]
>
>
> Given that 1Net is all about MSism:
>
> "As part of the multistakeholder approach, /1net is hosting an open,
> global onlineforum about Internet governance. Together, we can develop
> a framework that will help grow and strengthen our interconnected
> world in the public interest. "
>
> source: 1net.org
>
> I doubt that this is really open to debate on this list.
>
> Given my experience in MS processes (including WSIS) over the last
> decade+ it is clear to me that the MS model is one that works far
> better in protecting an open Internet than representative democracy.
> Those MS processes aren't about power, but largely about which ideas
> are better than others (WSIS was an exception to this rule).
>
> YMMV.
>