Between reason of state and reason of market: the developments of internet governance in historical perspective

“No sovereignty, no elected government, no authority, no borders”. It was exactly twenty years ago, John Perry Barlow proclaimed his Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. And those were his keywords. Today, we can say that the development of Internet governance as a global policy arena is the answer to the questions that Barlow believed irrelevant to the proper development of cyberspace. If founding myths about an ungovernable, borderless, and intangible Internet have been demolished, what power relations have emerged in the Internet governance arena? What are the ideas –or the normative values– that sustain and legitimize the political role of governmental and nongovernmental actors? And, finally, is the multi-stakeholder model capable of grasping the real conflicts over political power, or is it part of those conflicts, a narrative supporting specific interests and coalitions? The main aim of this article is to consider these issues by analysing the developments of political conflicts over Internet governance, from the IAHC to WSIS, until recent processes such as the WCIT and NetMundial.“Ninguna soberanía, ningún gobierno electivo, ninguna autoridad, ningún confín”. Hace veinte años, John Perry Barlow proclamó su Declaración de Independencia del Ciberespacio. Y estas eran las palabras clave. Hoy día, podemos afirmar que el desarrollo del Internet Governance como ámbito de policy global responde a las preguntas que Barlow consideraba irrelevantes precisamente por lo que al desarrollo del ciberespacio se refería. Una vez que los mitos fundadores de un Internet sin confines, inmaterial y falto de estructuras de gobierno han sido derrotados, ¿cuáles son las relaciones de poder que han emergido en el campo del dominio del Internet? ¿Cuáles son las ideas –o los valores normativos– que sostienen y legitiman el papel político de los actores gubernamentales y no gubernamentales? Además, ¿el modelo multi-stakeholder sabe distinguir los conflictos de poder reales, o él mismo parte de esos conflictos, como un discurso de apoyo de los intereses y de las coaliciones en juego? El objetivo principal del artículo es analizar esos cuestionamientos a través del análisis del desarrollo de los conflictos políticos respecto de la gobernanza de la red: del IAHC al WSIS, hasta llegar a los procesos más recientes, como el WCIT y el NetMundial

Beyond NETmundial: The Roadmap for Institutional Improvements to the Global Internet Governance Ecosystem

Beyond NETmundial: The Roadmap for Institutional Improvements to the Global Internet Governance Ecosystem explores options for the implementation of a key section of the “NETmundial Multistakeholder Statement” that was adopted at the Global Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance (NETmundial) held on April 23rd and 24th 2014 in São Paulo, Brazil. The Roadmap section of the statement concisely sets out a series of proposed enhancements to existing mechanisms for global internet governance, as well as suggestions of possible new initiatives that the global community may wish to consider. The sixteen chapters by leading practitioners and scholars are grouped into six sections: The NETmundial Meeting; Strengthening the Internet Governance Forum; Filling the Gaps; Improving ICANN; Broader Analytical Perspectives; and Moving Forward

The privatization of land development and parastatal policy in developing countries : a case study in Tunisia

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-43).by Julie Chen.M.C.P

Corporate Governance Practices and Earnings Management in Islamic Banking Institutions

This paper examines corporate governance (CG) characteristics and relates them to earnings management (EM) behaviours in the context of a large emerging sector, Islamic banking industry. Empirical Investigation used multivariate probit analysis and relied on a sample of 90 Islamic Banks over the period of the years 2000-2009. Findings revealed that CG issues in Islamic banking differ significantly from those of the conventional system. Main differences are found with regard to philosophical aspects, including objectives of the bank, natures of contract involved, key players in the CG practice as well as the relationships between the players. We verified that these aspects provide strong justification for an additional layer in the CG of an Islamic bank being the Shari'ah Supervisory Board (SSB). The mechanism and tools for the effective implementation of CG are relatively the same as the conventional system. Results suggest also that audit committee plays a more significant role in moderating EM than the other aspects of CG.  Moreover, the estimated coefficients of SSB embeddedness suggest that an in-house SSB is effective in mitigating EM. The results, however, do not provide evidence that SSB characteristics, such as SSB size, SSB members objectivity and SSB members competence are significant in mitigating EM. By the same, results revealed no difference between Islamic banks with and without governance  committee in terms of EM intensity. Keywords: Earnings Management, Corporate Governance, Islamic Banking Institutions

Essays on political elites and violence in changing political orders of Middle East and Africa

This research project addresses the question of how political elites’ behaviour varies when competition among them is heightened. Focusing on changing political orders across Africa and the Middle East, it seeks to understand how political elites facing internal and external challenges manipulate local power structures for political survival purposes, resulting in distinct political trajectories. The thesis argues that local political and conflict environments are conditional on the nature of competition among elites. Volatile political transitions, intense popular unrest, and militarised environments all create distinct incentives and constraints which shape political orders, and determine the inclusion or exclusion of select elites in the resulting political settlement. Using a mixed-method research design which combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the thesis consists of five essays exploring select topics and three in-depth case studies. The essays address two cross-cutting themes. First, they show how elites reconfigure institutional structures to cement alliances and survive internal or external challenges when power is being contested after a change in the leadership, or when facing popular mobilisation. Bargaining occurs through ministerial appointments or purges which aim to consolidate political settlements and secure power holders from rivals. Examples from Tunisia and recent episodes of leadership changes from across Africa are presented together with original datasets of ministerial appointments. Second, the essays illustrate how patterns of violence within states are indicative of the fragmented nature of the political environment of the political competition therein taking place. Findings from Libya and Yemen are presented to demonstrate that localised fragmentation produce subnational geographies of conflict which reflect the strategies and the mobilisation capacity of armed groups and elite actors

The role of non-state actors in regime formation: Case study on Internet governance.

Many scholars argue that the Internet is a symbol of globalization and avoidance of state control. The Internet governance negotiations, which aims to establish an international regime for the Internet, is conducted through a multi-stakeholder setting associated with extensive involvement of non-state actors. This has been viewed as an indicator for a \u27diminishing state role\u27 in international relations; particularly, formation of international regimes. This study indicates that the role of states does not diminish in regime formation. States, especially great powers, are the main actors that set international principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures. They create regimes in order to regulate international behavior as to global sectors, including the Internet. States deliberately enable certain non-state actors to participate in regime formation and governance of some global sectors, based on conscious perception of the utility and usefulness of such participation

Эволюция позиции Итальянской Республики в отношении Украины в процессе ералихации европейской политики соседства

Current EU economic and security challenges on the territory of the EU’s ‘ring of friends’ open a new page of its history influencing European security and stability framework of development. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand circumstances that favored to the catalyst progress of unstable neighborhoods. The article presents an analysis of the Italy’s position towards European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern dimension of this policy — Eastern Partnership. A special interest is focus on its view towards Ukraine, being a reality-check for the European Union officials after the Revolution of Dignity, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war of Russia. This article is presenting the ideas that ENP was created by the EU as an instrument for the democratization which couldn’t prevent conflicts in the geopolitically diverse regions. Italy, being one of the founding members of the European Union, was reluctant advocate a balanced approach towards the neighborhood regions. It merely focused on the Southern dimension of the ENP, almost taking apart Eastern Partnership. In the first part, the article demonstrates the development process of the ENP with special attention that it coincided with the EU 5th enlargement preparation. This dualism influenced the ENP tailoring and subsequent implementation. The second part focuses on the of Italy’s opinion development from ENP launch till 2009 when its Eastern dimension — Eastern Partnership — was introduced. The third part analyzes Italy’s perception of Eastern Partnership and its attempts to reschedule EU’s attention to the South flank of the ENP in the post-Crimea annexation period.У статті репрезентовано погляд на еволюцію викликів, що пов’язані з Європейською політикою сусідства (ЄПС), та місце й роль України в ній. Дослідження цієї проблеми подано в контексті аналізу італомовних джерел та літератури, що становить особливий інтерес для розуміння позиції Італії щодо участі України в ЄПС та у її «східному вимірі» — Східному партнерстві. У першій частині статті показано еволюцію ЄПС із особливим наголосом на те, що цей процес співпав з підготовкою до 5-го розширення ЄС. Другу частину присвячено еволюції сприйняття Італією політики ЄС щодо своїх сусідів у період, коли було запроваджено Східне партнерство. У третій частині аналізується сприйняття Італією Східного партнерства та ЄПС після незаконної анексії Криму та війни на Сході України. Розкривається взаємозв’язок між інтересами Італійської Республіки та Європейського Союзу щодо консолідованого майбутнього ЄС, пов’язаного з шляхами подолання безпекових загроз.В статье представлены взгляд на эволюцию вызовов, связанных с Европейской политикой соседства (ЕПС), и место и роль Украины в ней. Исследование этой проблемы представлены в контексте анализа италоязычных источников и литературы, представляет особый интерес для понимания позиции Италии по участию Украины в ЕПС и в ее «восточном измерении» - Восточном партнерстве. В первой части статьи показана эволюция ЕПС с особым ударением на то, что этот процесс совпал с подготовкой к 5-му расширения ЕС. Вторую часть посвящена эволюции восприятия Италией политики ЕС в отношении своих соседей в период, когда была введена Восточное партнерство. В третьей части анализируется восприятие Италией Восточного партнерства и ЕПС после незаконной аннексии Крыма и войны на Востоке Украины. Раскрывается взаимосвязь между интересами Итальянской Республики и Европейского Союза по консолидированного будущего ЕС, связанного с путями преодоления угроз безопасности

Outsourcing Security and the Reconfiguration of State Power after the Arab Uprisings

Since the 2010-2011 uprisings, several Arab countries have witnessed considerable reconfiguration of their market for force. Alongside continuous reshuffle and reform schemes affecting the public security institutions, the market for force has experienced a notable expansion of the private security industry, initially in the private sector and increasingly through an expanding outsourcing process. Acknowledging the enduring centrality of the security institutions to state power and regime stability in the Arab region, this research explores how increased privatization and outsourcing of security, amid wider reconfigurations of the market for force, has contributed to the reconfiguration of state power in some of the Arab region’s security states since the 2010-2011 uprisings. Particularly, how has the outlined phenomenon impacted internal regime structure and state-society relations? This enquiry is pursued in two case studies: Egypt and Tunisia. Unlike other Arab countries equally affected by the uprisings, Egypt and Tunisia experienced a quick change in leadership followed by a relatively stable transitional period. Despite their distinct histories and divergent post-uprisings political development, both countries share a long history of being prominent security states. The considerable historical and contemporary similarities between both countries offer rich grounds for comparative analysis while the particularities of each case present unique elements of analysis and grounds to draw different conclusions to test in other cases. Drawing upon interviews, official documents and fieldwork, the study argues that the post-uprisings reconfiguration of the market for force, amid intensifying security threats and persisting popular unrest, fits into an ongoing framework of authoritarian adaption pursued by the Arab region’s ruling regimes to ensure their survival and prosperity following the 2010-2011 uprisings. Beyond its roots in neo-liberal governance, this phenomenon effectively serves to enhance regime security by providing alternative agents and strategies for social control while offering new venues to expand regime interests through networks of patronage that nurture broad-based authoritarian coalitions and attach the interests of diverse social groups to regime survival