A report on the global effects of internet fragmentation

Abstract

The Internet since its conception has been revolutionizing the way people think, do business and communicate (FCC, 2013). Hostility to the current multistakeholder Internet governance model in the geopolitical environment has been a significant contributor to the reconfiguration of the Internet’s openness. A potential result of these tensions is Internet fragmentation (Chadwick, 2009; BBC, 2005; Arthur, 2012). Internet fragmentation is a rising concern globally mainly due to issues regarding the control of the Internet. This topic is being discussed at international summits and conferences, and a possible fragmentation of the Internet is becoming a reality. Governments, global businesses and other stakeholders have diverse and conflicting viewpoints on how the Internet should be governed. The main governing body of the Internet, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has raised awareness of this issue in order to protect this open source of free flowing information. They have commissioned a team of students from the University of Greenwich in the MA/MBA International Business programme to conduct exploratory research to understand the potential impact of Internet fragmentation on the current structure of stakeholder authority. This project consists of four parts: An analysis of the social and political effects of fragmentation; an analysis of the effects of fragmentation on international trade through blockmodeling; Internet Fragmentation and its influence on global trade through interpretive analysis; and an assessment of the impact of Internet fragmentation on international business operations