Deconstructing Internet Governance: A Framework for Analysis

Abstract

Chapter 2 explores the global governance scholarship and its cross-fertilization with the study of Internet developments. Clustered around three prominent themes in international affairs—varieties of governance, sources of authority, and praxis—the chapter scrutinizes scattered, often implicit proposals on the emergence and articulation of governance. It links these to more recent attempts to study the Internet as part of distinct repertoires, identifying the genesis and structuration of new issue domains as a marginal focus in the literature. Based on a deconstructive approach, this chapter provides a guiding frame that distinguishes between three key dimensions for the enactment of governance: mechanisms, actors, and anchoring practices. Methodologically, this translates into a complex research design combining historical and empirical analysis, explained in detail in the second part of the chapter.