دانلود رایگان مقاله اثرات تحول مولتی سهام داری در حاکمیت اینترنت: مطالعه موردی از انجمن حکومت اینترنت شرق آفریقا

abstract

Internet governance issues tend to be contentious, multifaceted, and interconnected among various stakeholders. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was formed as a potentially effective and legitimate multistakeholder governance network that could better ensure cooperation. An evaluation of the impacts of the IGF model in regional contexts, particularly developing country contexts, has gained limited attention. This study is one of the first to explore the function of the IGF model in a regional context by investigating the impacts of the East African Community’s (EAC) East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF), the first regional IGF established globally. International regime theory, the theory of elite competition, and a modified version of the actor-centered institutionalism model were used to examine the power of stakeholders, including impacts of institutional endowments on stakeholder influence within the EAIGF and impacts of participation in the EAIGF on member country Internet governance tactics. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with EAIGF participants, observations of the 2012 EAIGF meeting, and qualitative document analysis of EAIGF documents and related policy documents from EAC member states. Findings reveal the EAIGF promotes capacity building, knowledge sharing, and policy transfer within the region and has contributed to a shift in the balance of power in policymaking processes from state-centric to multistakeholder. However, the forum reinforced influence of states and stakeholders with stronger institutional endowments on the framing of policy issues within the forum. Thus, policy decisions attributed to the forum are likely reflective of the preferences of stronger stakeholders.

7. Conclusion

While research has been conducted on the impacts of the global IGF model, the impacts of the IGF within regional contexts, particularly within developing country contexts, has been limited. This study is one of the first to explore the function of the IGF in a developing country region by focusing on the first regional IGF formed globally, the EAIGF. This study focused on the influence of the EAIGF in the region as well as the impacts of institutional endowments on shaping stakeholder power and interactions within the forum.